


The Love Song

by GeckoPrince



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Curses, Eventual Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, MerMay, Minor Violence, Oops, Paladins, Slow Burn, Smut in chapter 12, bad medicine, kosmo is an eel, shiro's dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:56:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoPrince/pseuds/GeckoPrince
Summary: Basically, the word version of Ribbitsplace's (insta, ao3, Tumblr) mermaid AU. The plot will diverge a teensy bit.Shiro was a prince of Galaxia, until a typhoon wrecked his ship and separated him from his crew during a fishing trip. Captured by the elusive Galra, he was turned into a sleeper agent made to infiltrate the greatest Mer kingdom, Atlantea. Somehow he escaped, and was found by Keith, an Atlantean hermit living outside of the kingdom with his trusty asshole of an eel, Kosmo.Each chapter is named by a line from the Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock by TS Elliot





	1. I Am Not Prince Hamlet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ribbitsplace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ribbitsplace/gifts).



> Okay okay I promise I'll get back to All's Not Fair soon, let me just indulge in this first.  
> Each chapter is named by a line from the Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock by TS Elliot

 

     The storm lashes around them, the jaws of the waves threatening to consume them. The ship is thrown side to side, sailors grabbing to anything to stay aboard. Already, the first mate and a fisherman have been lost, Adam to the winds and Curtis trying to get them back. Collie managed to stretch some unused net across the deck, which sailors are clinging to like drowning bugs. 

 

     “Take down the mainsail!” the captain bellows, praying to God that someone can hear him above the thunder. He would himself, but he’s tied himself to the wheel in the desperate hope he an sail his crew out of this mess. Through the purplish haze, he sees old Holt attempt to take it down, only to be whacked in the face by stray rigging. The cabin boy, Matt, cries something that is lost to the wind and attempts to make his way to his father, ducking an airborne bucket to crawl to the mast.

 

     “Get the mast! Worry about him later!” The captain yells. Matt hears him. Casting a fearful glance back, he pulls himself to the base of the mast, and grabs on to the thick rope that should take down the sail. It doesn’t move. He pulls frantically.

 

     “It won’t move, Cap! It’s stuck!”

 

     Holt regain his footing, blood dripping from his head. He pulls a dagger from his belt and jams it into the mast before falling down again. “You gotta cut it, son!”

 

     Matt grabs it and hacks at the rope, and it begins to fray. He takes out his own blade, more of a glorified butter knife, and gives it to Holt. The father and son attack the rope together, and little by little it comes apart.

 

     Collie rushes up from the lower deck, drenched in seawater. “Ive can’t seal the hole! We’re bailing out as fast a we can, but we’re takin’ on water!” The captain opens his mouth to reply, but-

SNAP.

 

     The ship bucks up madly and the wheel spins wildly, and the captain is flung to the bow. He sees a large plank of wood bob up to the roiling surface.

 

     They’ve lost the rudder. They’re doomed.

 

     Grasping the rail, the captain pulls himself to his feet. He sees the Holts looking at him in terror. Collie is hanging on to the door to the lower deck, also fixed on him. Ive and his men peer up from the hold. Monty and Kalt are hanging on to the starboard, pale faces stricken.

 

     “Men!” the captain shouts, “The rudder is gone! Take out the lifeboat!” The lifeboat is not much, a four-oar boat with just enough  room for his crew. The Holts pull out their knives and race to port, uncovering the craft. Ive disappears below decks, then reappears with the rest of the crew. They load into the boat.

 

     The captain glances at the angry waves and gasps. Below the surface, a bright purple light is shining.

 

_      That’s not natural,  _ he breathes. No one else seems to have noticed.  _ What is it? _

 

     “Cap?” Matt is standing below the bow. He looks at the captain nervously. “We gotta go.”

 

     “Yes, of course.” The captain releases the rigging he was clutching. “Let’s go.”

 

_ Crunch. Just dimly over the roar of the sea and sky, the captain hears the great splintering, the creaking. The mast.  _

 

     The captain looks up at the mast. With a bellow of pain, it uproots itself from the deck. It’s going to fall on Matt.

 

     “Matt! Go!” The captain yells, and launches himself at the boy. Slipping on the wet wood, he shoves Matt out of the way just in time, pushing him down the slippery wood into the lifeboat. The ship crests a massive wave and the captain falls to the ground. He looks up and sees the listing mast leaning towards him. He tries to pull himself out of the way but he can’t move. The netting. His feet are stuck. The captain frantically attempts to free himself, but there’s no time.

 

     With a thunderous crash, the mast falls on the captain, and then the darkness takes him.

  
  
  


_      Matt scrambles to get out of the lifeboat. The mast has split the boat, but in the broken panel where the captain saved him, Matt can see his hand. Bloody, the captain’s arm has been crushed by the mast, and he is on one side and his hand on the other. “Cap!” Matt screams, and wobbles to his feet. He’s stopped by a hand on his wrist. Ive. _

 

_      “Matt!” The big man shouts. Rain lashes across their faces. “The ship’s going down. If we don’t cut loose we will too! We have to go!”  _

 

_      “But the captain is still on board! We have to get him!” Matt yanks free, but Ive and Collie both grab him again.  _

 

_      “He told us to go!” Monty swings his hatchet into the ropes, and the lifeboat falls into the waves.  _ _ The salt of the sea and the salt of Matt’s tears are carried away by the wind, and his voice is lost as he screams at the wreckage. _

 

_      “SHIRO!” _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  


 

__ -You only got one? _ _

  
_ -My lady, we captured those others. _

_  
_ _ -And you lost them. _

_  
_ _ -They were weak. Their bodies couldn’t stand the exchange. _

_  
_ _ -But this one did. _

_  
_ _ -Yes. He’s ready for th _ _ e next steps. _

_  
_ _ -We will begin shortly, then. Make sure his intelligence hasn’t been damage with the rest of him, we can’t waste the Heart. _

_  
_ _ -Yes, Lady. _

_  
_ _ -Oh, and take care of that arm thing. _ __  


 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

     Shiro wakes in a purple haze. His eyes are heavy, and his neck will not move. Cold ripples across his body. 

 

_ What happened? _

 

     He attempts to raise himself up, and realizes the cold is from icy metal bars strapping him down.

 

_ Where am I? _

 

     His environment comes into focus. He can tell he’s on some kind of bed. Is he in a hospital? Why is he restrained?

 

_ Oh God, my crew. _

 

     Where are they? They were in the life boat, and he pushed Matt, and then the mast, and then- pain. Craning his neck, Shiro turns to his arm.

 

     What’s left of it.

 

     His hand and shoulder are intact, but what’s between them… A mess of muscle and bone more resembling the guts of a fish that any human anatomy. 

 

     Closing his eyes, Shiro turns away.

 

_      It doesn’t hurt? _

 

     “You are awake.” Shiro opens his eyes, and finds himself staring into a purplish face with glowing yellow eyes. It ripples slightly. What’s going on?

 

     Shiro opens his mouth to speak, and water surges in. He splutters, coughing it out, trying to get air. The purple thing waits. Shiro gasps, and then stops dead. The water is… he’s breathing it?

 

     Satisfied with the performance, the creature turns away. “What are you? Where are you from?”

 

     “I could ask the same to you,” Shiro says. “Where am I? Why are my lungs accepting the water?”

 

     The creature does not answer. When it turns back, it is holding a large syringe filled with glowing pink liquid.

 

     “Wait! What is that? What are you-” The creature jams it into his chest, and the last thing Shiro sees is a large purple fish’s tail behind the creature. Pink cotton creeps into his nose, blocks his throat, surrounds him, a blanket of fog clouds his vision, his brain is fuzzy, he can’t think, beyond the veil he can see and hear but it’s all nothing…

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_      The pain is there and then it isn’t. Waves as hot as coal crest over him and then recede before he can name it agony. Voices come and go before he can understand what they say. _

 

  
__ -We took care of the limb, Milady. _ _

 

_ -It has been programmed? _

_  
_ _ -Yes. And his thoughts. _

_  
_ _ -Very good. _ __  


 

 

_ His arm… what is that again? Something dark. _

 

__ -How is he? _ _

 

_ -Doing well, Milady.  _ _ His body accepted the modifications. _

 

_ -Then it is time to begin phase two. _

 

_ -Milady, are you sure? He’s the only one to ever have gotten this far, he’s too valuable as he is! _

 

_ -Silence! Do not question my orders. _

 

_ -What shall we do about the leg bones? _

 

_ -Are they a problem? _

 

_ -…. No, Milady. _

 

_ -Then continue. _

 

 

_ And then the waves come and go, and cotton fills his eyes and ears and everything is a fog. _

 

 

_ And then the fog is gone. _

* * *

 

     Shiro wakes in a cell. It must be a cell, because it’s small and dark. But the door is open. He feels strange. He attempts to stand up and take a step towards the door, but something won’t move and he just falls backwards, cushioned by the water. He looks down, and gasps.

 

     Where his legs once were is something that could only be described as a tail. It begins at his groin, a small discoloring unlike a bruise. Below his hips he can see an indent, which must be where his legs should separate, but instead they are merged into one massively long… thing. The bruise-like coloring intensifies down his legs into a deep blue, like a stormy sky. The tail is longer than he is, and when it tapers off small rays of cartilage flow outward. Another several feet or so, a massive translucent fin waves peacefully. Two smaller ones jut from where his ankles used to be. 

 

     What the hell is this? It must be a dream. Shiro remembers the storm, and glances at his mauled arm, but it too has changed. From flesh to mess, it is now rebuilt. It looks like a regular arm, but the same dark bruisy color flows from his fingertips to his shoulder. Shiro closes his hand into a fist, and is surprised to feel a surge of power. He experimentally moves his legs- or, tail, and finds it much more powerful than his legs when he swam. What did they do? Sew it on him or something?

 

     Whatever is going on, he’s gotta get out. He’s gotta find his friends. 

 

     Shiro tests his tail, kicking towards the door, and finds himself propelled out of it into a long hallway. Silence. He turns himself with an arm on the door and swims down one end. The hallway seems to go on forever. On one side appears to be some kind of window, but when Shiro peers out he sees nothing but darkness. He swims on and on down the hall. Doors pass by on one side, but purple light emanates from them so he decides to continue. 

_     Swish _ . Shiro hears something from beyond the bending corridor, and stills. Again, he hears it. Risking a glance, Shiro leans forward and sees two of those massive purple creatures- merpeople?- swimming down, holding some kind of mechanism in their hand. One looks up, right at him. 

 

     “Hey, you!” it shouts. “Halt!”  Shiro turns tail and speeds away, back the way he came, but the two are behind him.

 

     “Escaped prisoner! Catch him!” They’re gaining on him, their much more practiced tails propelling them closer and closer to Shiro. He puts on a burst of speed, but they’re going to catch him soon. There’s only one option. Shiro turns and looks at the window. It’s small, but he might be able to fit through. 

 

     Bringing up his augmented hand, he punches the window with all his might. It cracks. Shiro does it again and the window shatters. He breaks out the largest pieces of glass, and pulls himself through. His shoulders, then his torso. But then, he’s stuck. Shiro glances back and realizes that his thickened tail is too large. The remaining glass cuts against his flesh.

 

    “Don’t move!” cry the sentries. He feels something brush against his fin things, and with a cry he rips himself out, the glass gouging long wounds in his tail. He’s free. Blood flows freely from his tail in reddish clouds. The mer-guards crowd the window, but their shoulders alone can’t fit through. One of them shoves its mechanism through the window, and moves their hand, and suddenly an arc of bright light is coming at Shiro. 

 

     “Augh!” It strikes before he can dodge, hitting his ribs and burning away the skin. The guard fires again, but Shiro dodges it, and dodges the next. With a last glances back, he swims into the dark. 

  
  



	2. Sea-girls Wreathed in Seaweed Red and Brown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter... Keith!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this during finals at my school sooooo don't expect consistent anything. Except eels. And fish dicks.

Every morning, Keith swims up the seamount and greets the light. He glides through beautiful coral and sea plants to one of the highest peaks of the mountain range, barely below the surface of the water. His one spot is a small plateau made by a cushioned reddish sea fan. Every morning when the brightest light is the minute bioluminescent fauna, he will climb up and rest, watching the light rise. He feels as though he stands at the horizon, and that the ocean eds just up ahead  and then it is just the atmosphere and the sun. Here, the sun will crest and light the ocean all kinds of beautiful pinks and purples and golds, and Keith wouldn’t trade it for anything. Even for Atlantea. From here, he can see in the distance the glimmering ivory of the Atlantean guard towers. To the east is the sun, and Atlantea lurks in the west. Remembering it lit up in the soft dawn sends pangs to Keith’s chest, but he knows that he does not belong in Atlantea. However beautiful it was, it was never any home to him. Here, he has found a place to come back to. Not that he leaves. 

 

This morning, the sky has been kind enough to not cloud over, leaving the waking sun free to shine its rays into the ocean. Keith leans against the cool rock of the seamount and drinks it up, through his gills and his eyes and his soul. A sudden zap drags him back.

 

“Kosmo? What is it?” Keith’s eel has zapped himself straight into Keith. He writhes around in circles, bumping into Keith’s tail and giving off waves of agitation. “What happened?”

 

Keith can’t explain it, but Kosmo and he are somehow capable of sharing emotions, and rudimentary thoughts. This one is  _ stranger. _

 

Keith swishes down from his perch. The intruder seems to be coming from the north, and nothing good comes from the north. He swims down to the base of the mountain where it meets the sand in an explosion of seagrass. Wedged up between the fields of seagrass and the seamount is Keith’s home, an old shipwreck that went down some years ago. Keith dives in and grabs his weapons from where they lay by the entrance, a spear tipped in bone and a metal dagger. Kosmo zooms around his shoulders in circles, buzzing. There’s something wrong with the stranger.

 

“Kosmo, stay,” Keith tells the eel, but the eel swims after him. “It’s not safe! Stay!” he insists, but Kosmo winds himself around Keith’s arm. “Fine. Your funeral.” 

 

To the north of the wreck, the plains of seagrass drop off into the deep, a murky expanse that all merfolk avoid. It bothers Keith, but something still draws him to it. Back when he lived in Atlantea, he heard stories of mers who, overcome with curiosity, had swum into the benthic void. Almost none had been seen again, save for the few that came back with their brains destroyed, raving about light and clearly gone. Occasionally they’d mention the Galra, a reclusive species thought to be almost gone. King Alfor and his legendary paladins had banished the Galra centuries ago to the Daibazaal Trench after their invasion of the mer capital, Atlantea. These ramblings were dismissed as madness, for the broken Galra could never mount any threat whatsoever. 

 

Keith stops at the dropoff, gripping a yellow sponge. Could the stranger be a mer, a survivor of the deep? Or… could they be a Galra? Whatever it was, Keith will soon see. He allows his eyes to unfocus, searching the gloom below him for any movement

 

Then he sees it. A dark blue shape emerges from the shadows. At first he thinks it’s a shark, with its massive dark body and slow gait. Keith readies his spear, but waits until it gets closer. The thing is close now, close enough that Keith can see its mer shape, with a torso and arms and a head. One of his arms is as dark as his tail, and unlike Atlanteans there is no distinction where the skin ends and the scale begins.

“Stay back! Who are you?” Keith shouts. The mer is in range for his spear, now. The merman continues on, weakly swimming closer to the dropoff. He doesn’t seem to hear Keith.

That’s when Keith notices the gashes on his tail. Around his hips, massive gouges disfigure the blues and purples, still oozing clouds of blood. A wound on the creature’s ribs is also evident now, though it seems to have been inflicted by a heat source. Perhaps a thermal vent? The area surrounded the blistered flesh is dark and charred. It’s a miracle the merman has made it this far. 

 

“I’m warning you! Last chance!” The mer drifts closer and closer, tail barely beating the water. He’s barely a meter in front of Keith now. Keith swings his spear and points it at his throat. “Stay back.”

 

The mer stops swimming, throat barely away from being pierced by Keith’s spear. He doesn’t move. Keith’s eyes flick back to the gashes, and then the creature’s face. There’s a scar across the bridge of his nose, and a white puff in his black hair. His eyes are cloudy, oceans away from his body. Could this strange mer-creature have just died? Keith removes his spear suspiciously, but the other mer makes no move. Keith leans closer. No motion. He reaches out and grabs the unscaled arm, and tugs the mer past the dropoff onto the coral shelf. When he lets go, the mer just drifts. Keith can’t locate his gills, but the strange mer’s chest rises and falls, which must be a symbol of life. Right? 

 

“Okay, Kosmo. I dunno what he is, but if we leave him here he’ll wake up and go home. Right?” Kosmo bumps his face into Keith.

 

“No. There’s no way we’re bring some weird hurt mer to the house.” Kosmo zips away from Keith and appears on the drifting mer’s chest. He twines himself around his neck.

 

“Not dangerous? No way! You don’t know! He’s comatose right now! We’re gonna take him back and he’s gonna wake up and kill us all. Just look at him! He’s the size of a whale shark!” Keith isn’t wrong, the mer’s tail alone is longer than Keith’s whole body. 

 

Kosmo swims back to Keith. “Good. Let’s go home.” Without warning, Kosmo rears his head back, and sinks his small fangs into Keith’s hand.

 

“OW! The hell was that for?” Keith accuses the eel, who looks very pleased.  “No. We aren’t bringing him back!”

  
  
  


* * *

 

  
  
  


Shiro doesn’t remember how he got here. He remembers the murky waters, and trying to get to the surface. Now, through hazy eyes he sees color.

It’s fuzzy but vibrant, a rainbow through the water. His vision won’t focus. It hurts to open his eyes any wider. He sees sand. Sand… the beaches. Is he home?

 

He isn’t swimming. His body is nothingness. He cannot feel anything, just white space. Is he alive?

 

The sand morphs into a verdant green field, rippling with the wind or the water.  _ Like home? _

 

The darkness is pulling him back, tugging his eyes closed and his mind away. Before it consumes him again, he sees red against the green. A fish’s elegant tail of ruby. Its scales are like garnet against the emerald seagrass. It waves back and forth, sending sunlight flying like fire. A broad, leave shaped tail steers the elegance, thin and reddish and translucent. No blood in this red monstrosity, just beauty and fire and rubies. And then, obsidian black. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Shiro comes to with a gasp of pain on his lips. He attempts sit up, but pain flares through his chest and he lays back down with a groan. Something heavy and soft weighs on his torso. He opens his eyes.

 

Shiro is laying on some kind of soft cushion, and a heavy blanket keeps him from floating. This isn’t home. A jab of pain turns Shiro’s gaze towards his wounded ribs, and he sees… a human? A skinny torso leans over him, creamy skin shining in the light of a small window. The man’s hair is long and dark, and drifts around him lazily. He’s leaned over Shiro’s ribs, doing something to his wound. 

 

“Wha-” Shiro croaks. His voice is hoarse. 

 

The mystery man’s head snaps up. Just as pale as the rest of him, he has a long, elegant face and wide, pearly eyes narrowing at Shiro. He let’s go of the cloth he was holding and snatches a dagger from where it lays on the bed. He presses it under Shiro’s chin.

 

“Who are you? What were you doing out there?” the man demands. Shiro’s mind trudges to keep up with the words.

 

“I… not sure…” Where was he? “A shipwreck… my crew. The mast, it- and they- the pain, I…” he trails off. “My legs…” The man frowns, but removes his dagger from Shiro’s throat.

 

“Legs?”

 

“Yes! I-” Shiro stops dead. He’s truly awake now. He pulls the blanket off his body.

It wasn’t a dream. His massive tail drifts leisurely on the bed. It’s too long, and some spills off to the floor, where a massive back fin waves. “No.” 

 

“Who are you? I found you drifting out north.” Shiro pushes himself up to a sitting position. 

“I am Prince Takashi Shirogane, second in line for the throne of Galaxia, Lord of Sky Garrison, and-” Shiro breaks off, a spasm in his ribs interrupting his title. “- a- and Captain of the Sky Garrison fleet.”

The other man looks unimpressed, but confused.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“I am Keith. Uh, you’re in the Marmeas Ocean, outside of Atlantea. I found you and was fixing up your wounds, Prince, er, Taka.. Shi? Galaxy?” 

“You can, uh, call me Shiro. Did you say ocean?”

Keith nods. “Uh, yeah. Merfolk capital.”

“No way. I thought you were a legend. How am I here? I shouldn’t be here! We’re humans!”

Keith shakes his head slowly. “Uh, no. Are you crazy?” He points to Shiro’s tail. No, both of their tails.  _ Rubies. _

 

Shiro gasps. Where Keith’s groin and hips should be, instead begins a long crimson tail.

 

“You’re a mermaid! Merman?” Keith nods.

 

“And so are you, Shiro.”

 

“No, I’m not. There’s no way. I can’t be!” Shiro scrapes at his tail frantically, as if his legs are just below the surface. “I’m a human! I have legs!”

 

“Wait! Shiro! What even happened to you?” Keith grabs Shiro’s wrists tightly to prevent him from harming himself.

 

Shiro stares at his tail in horror, and speaks slowly. “I was fishing with my friends a few miles out from Sky Garrison. We got in a storm, and there was this weird purple light, and then- I think my friends got away. When I woke up there were these things… Like you, but big and purple. They had markings and stuff. And there was a woman’s voice. They did stuff to me-” Shiro shudders and can’t go on.

 

Keith releases his wrists. “I think you were captured by the Galra.”

 

“The who?”

 

“They Galra. They’re a species of merfolk my kind banished a long time ago. Big. Purple. We thought they were gone, but. There’s been rumors of sightings out north, in the deep trenches, but nothing really. But if what you say is true…”

 

“... they must be alive.” Shiro concludes. They sit in silence for a moment, before Keith gestures back to Shiro’s tail.

 

“They must have advanced their technology, to turn something like you- I mean, a human-  into this.” Shiro shakes his head.

 

“No way, they couldn’t have just- it’s not possible to alter a body! My legs must be under these scales! And look, I don’t have gills!” Shiro presses around his ribs where Keith’s gills are, and feels nothing.

 

“No, Shiro. You’re breathing water. That alone is a feat, they must have modified your lungs for some sort of filtration. And I don’t think your legs are under there.”

Shiro nods at Keith’s words. “I’m forced to agree about the gills. But, my legs? They can’t just completely reorganize my biology like that.” He runs his hands, one dark and scaled, over his hips. They slide off gleaming black scale. Shiro’s hands stop. An expression of sheer terror freezes is face, and he looks back at his groin. “Wait. Where’s… where’s my dick?!”

 

Keith cocks his head quizzically. “Your um, reproductive organs?”

 

“Yeah!” The human inspects his tail closely. “They must have sealed it under the scales, right?”

 

“Well, uh.” Keith’s eyes search for anything but the panicked creature in front of him. “If they actually did turn you into a mer, umm… your, er, penis should emerge from the cloaca high in the tail when stimulated. Uh, yeah. Below the larger scales, in my species, er…” 

Shiro takes this in with consternation. “I guess I’d know then. If the Galra did change me that much. But there’s no way, right?” He looks to the red merman for support. Said merman avoids his eyes, staring at the floor.

 

Shiro sighs and leans against the planks supporting his bed. “I have to know. Could I, uh, have some privacy…?” Keith nods and turns to open the door, his face almost matching his tail in redness. Wordlessly he exists, leaving Shiro to contemplate his dick, or lack of.

 

  
  


 

Keith waits outside the ship’s cabin where he left the strange mer-human man. Kosmo darts around him, evidently very pleased. 

 

“What? Oh, come on, just cause you were right doesn’t mean you will be next time!” Keith hisses at the eel, who rubs up against the pattern of bite marks he gave the mer earlier. “I’ll forgive you for the bites if you stop gloating.” The eel sends a small shock of electricity through Keith’s arm, then swims up to glide through his hair. “We’re cool.”

 

A yell sends Kosmo hurtling away from Keith. He spins around to hear Shiro’s curse coming though the timber of the cabin.

“ _ FUCK!” _

 

Keith yanks the door open and rushes into the cabin. “Shiro?!”

 

Shiro looks up at him in horror. “Keith! Wait, uh-!”

 

The red merman screeches to a halt. Shiro is, well… undeniably a merman. Before Shiro pulls the weighted blanket over himself, Keith glimpses the widened slit on his tail, from which emerges a blue-dappled member. He spins around to the door and covers his face with his hands. 

 

“Sorry. Sorry. Shit, sorry. I thought that something bad happened, and I…” 

 

It’s a moment before Shiro speaks.

 

“It’s… okay. Well, I guess now we know that the Galra are capable of completely changing biology.” Keith nods. “And, uh, sorry but… does it… go down?”

 

_ What? _ “Uh. Yeah. I think of that time I found a decaying giant parrotfish and Kosmo slithered down its eyeball and emerged in its guts and they were all bloated and the crabs were eating the stomach lining aaand I’m gonna stop talking.”

 

“ _ Oh.” _ Shiro says weakly. He sounds rather green. “Thanks. Who’s Kosmo?”

“Kosmo is my pet eel. He’s mildly electric and capable of teleportation through short distances.” Keith risks a peep at Shiro, who seems to have overcome his issue. “He’s the one who found you.” Kosmo peeks his head through the open cabin door, then glides in.

 

Shiro smiles and extends his hand to the eel, who bumps his head into it. Shiro jumps at the electric shock, then laughs. 

 

“Thanks for finding me, Kosmo.” With a small snap, Kosmo disappears. “Wait, where did he go?”

 

“Probably hunting or something. Teleportation”

 

Shiro nods, deep in thought. With a sigh, he glances back to his tail. “So I guess there’s no changing me back?”

 

“Well…” Keith hesitates. “I’ve heard of a power. It’s called the Heart of the Sea, and it’s said to reside in the heart of Atlantea. It’s some primal thing, whose essence is connected to all our lives.”

 

Shiro looks unconvinced. “So it’s magic.” 

 

“I guess. But magic is just science we can’t explain yet. And if the Galra in the trench managed to do this to you, then imagine what the Heart of the Sea could do to you, with all the power of the Atlantean kingdom.”

 

Shiro starts. “Wait, a kingdom? There’s a whole civilization of you?”

 

The red mer smiles sadly. “Yes. Atlantea is filled with people like me. It’s not the only merfolk in the ocean, but definitely the greatest. There’s not much contact with other mers; they’re different species and pretty far away.”

 

“Why don’t you live in Atlantea?”

Keith’s face darkens. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“Sorry. But uh, should I go to Atlantea then?”

 

Keith nods. “That’s a good idea. I’ll come with you and tell them about the Galra. If the Galra are making a move Atlantea should know.”

 

Shiro attempts to get up from the bed. “Ah!” He winces, clutching his ribs.

 

“Not now!” Keith yelps. He pushes Shiro back down. “You’re still hurt! You wouldn’t make it a second out there.”

 

Shiro looks at his body with a pained expression. 

 

“I put a clotting agent on your tail and it stopped the bleeding, but it needs stitches. I numbed your injuries when I found you but I guess it’s wearing off. I’m out now I think. And that thing on your shoulder, I think it’s a burn, I don’t have the technology Atlantea has to heal something like that but I can get some soothing stuff from my garden until we go to Atlantea- Uh. Can I treat your injuries?”

 

Shiro groans and leans back. “Sure. Thanks, Keith.” 

 

Keith nods and pulls his hair back, tying it with a string. He pulls out a drawer from where a chest is bolted against the wall, and takes out a bone needle and thread. “This will hurt, probably.”

 

Shiro grins weakly. “I was tortured by trench dwelling fish. This’ll be nothing.”  

 

Keith leans down over Shiro’s tail. In an almost perfect circle around the widest section, gashes interrupt the neat flow of glittering purple, blue, and black scales. Keith threads the needle into the bluish flesh near the wound where the gem-like scales have been torn off. He presses the needle through the skin, and waits. He feels Shiro tense. 

 

“I’m okay. Keep going.”

 

Shiro watches Keith work through a haze of dull pain. His torso hurts, sharpening into needles when Keith punctures his flesh. In and out, then tighten the stitches. He’s on to the second gash now. Three more to go. The merman glances up. His face is pale in the gloom of the cabin. Does sun not reach down here?

 

“Shiro?” 

“Yeah, I’m good.” 

 

Keith bends back to his task. His tied back hair drifts serenely across his pearlescent back. Patterns criss cross his spine, etching some kind of pattern down to his tail. Keith is going to the next gash. Garnets and rubies weave themselves in a beautiful dance down his tail, alternating sizes and colors turning the sea creature into pure fire.  _ Shiro _ . His eyes are a blue gray, reflecting a storm not unlike the one that sank Shiro’s ship. When he moves in the light, they flash with lightning.  _ Shiro.  _ His ears end in delicate points, tinted red.

 

“Shiro? Shiro!” The stormy haze around his vision recedes. Keith is shaking his shoulders. 

“What…?” Keith inspects his pupils, then presses a warm hand to his heart.

 

“You passed out, I think. I finished the last gash and then I was gonna bandage them but you didn’t respond.”

 

“Sorry.” Shiro leans his head back against the wood paneling. “I’m fine now. Please, continue.”

 

Keith nods. He pulls from the drawer some kind of sticky bandage, and presses it onto Shiro’s new stitches. “Kosmo brought me some verae from my garden, I’ll put it on your burn.” He pulls some greenish leaves from where they float in the cabin, and puts them in his mouth. Shiro raises his eyebrows. “Wot? You go’a ber iyea?” He spits out the greenish mush. “I need to create a pad.” He presses the verae into the burn, monitoring Shiro closely. Shiro squeezes his eyes shut and gasps. 

 

“Sorry. The burn isn’t too deep but it might have singed your gills- er, lungs.” Keith reaches for the bandages and winds them around Shiro’s abdomen, pressing the verae deep into the wound. Shiro is muscular, and as his scales thin on his torso they follow the lines of muscle. Keith secures the bandage. “There. The best I can do, you should be able to make the journey to the Atlantea capital in a week, give or take.”

 

Shiro moves experimentally. “Thank you, Keith.” 

 

The red mer smiles. “Of course. You should rest now. I’ll go out and get some food. Do you eat fish?” Shiro nods, and watches Keith as he swims out the cabin door, and closes it behind him. 

  
  



	3. Time for You and Time for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woah, you live here?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not Mermay anymore but I'm not done!
> 
> ... Am I too liberal with my horizontal lines

 

“I think I’m strong enough to swim outside,” Shiro declares to Keith. He’s just finished some kind of catfish; Keith caught two not far away. Keith pauses from his meal, strips of meat hanging from his unnervingly sharp teeth. It’s been two days by Shiro’s somewhat lucid count. His wounds are healing and he feels strong. He wants to test out his powerful tail, and regain his strength before the journey to Atlantea.

 

“Alright.” Keith says. The red merman opens the door, allowing bluish light to filter into the dim cabin. “I suppose it is time you see where you are.”

 

Shiro slide the weighted blanket off his tail, and pushes himself out of the bed. Reaching the door, he pulls himself out onto the ship’s deck. At first he’d thought it was a wooden house, but Keith had explained to him that he was living in a shipwreck.

He’s met with aquamarine. They’re tropical, close to the shallows and surrounded by reef. To one direction towers a massive seamount. Around the ship is a large sandbank, fields of seagrass rippling in the current. The glow of the sun is visible, reflected a million times in the water.

“It’s… beautiful.” Shiro says, drinking in the color after days of darkness. Keith smiles.

“It’s my home.”

“I don’t know what Atlantea looks like, but I might give up Galaxia to live here.”

“Really?”

Shiro shakes his head. “No. Galaxia is home. The moment the Heart of the Sea cures me, I’m going home.”

Keith cocks his head. “Do you view it as an illness, Shiro, that needs to be cured?”

“Oh!” Shiro realizes his words. He reads Keith’s sad face. “No. Well. It’s amazing. I’d love to experience the ocean… but, it’s not me. I don’t belong here. I can breathe water just fine, but I feel like it’s weighing down my lungs and my heart. I miss my people. I don’t belong here, Keith.”

Keith puts a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I understand not belonging. I suppose I love Atlantea, but I never felt like I belonged there. That’s what brought me out here.” They float in silence, gazing across the expanse of ocean. Keith gives Shiro’s shoulder a squeeze and lets go. “Come on, I wanna show you something.” He turns to the seamount and gestures for Shiro to follow.

“Hang on,” Shiro calls, and Keith turns back to see Shiro floundering. He’s paddling with his hands, but it’s not enough to carry the bulk of his body and tail through the water. Shiro tries to wiggle his torso, but whatever he’s attempting certainly isn’t swimming. Keith drifts back down, trying not to laugh.

“Not like that, Shiro. How did you escape the Galra like that?” Shiro shrugs.

“I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Keith stills Shiro’s hands. “Okay. So, can you feel your tail?” Shiro frowns, and nods. “Good. Try and move your tail.”

Clenching his teeth, Shiro manages to sway it from side to side.

“There you go! Now just imitate what I’m doing. Your arms won’t do anything.” Keith waves his tail, and shoots up. Shiro attempts weakly, but his powerful tail sends him flying up to Keith. He grins ecstatically.

“I did it! Woah, this tail is so powerful…” Shiro swims in an arc. “I can’t believe it.”

The merman smiles, watching him. “You do have an exceptionally large tail. It’s like a tiger shark. You’d fit right in as a guard of Atlantea.”

The large merman swooshes down. “In another life, maybe. Where did you want to show me?”

Keith gestures to the seamount, blanketed in vibrant coral. “Follow me.”

The two mermen swim into the coral garden. They emerge at the top, where a stone shelf is blanketed by a reddish, soft seafan. Keith leans against the fan, and gestures for Shiro to do the same.

“This is my favorite perch. I can see everything.”

Shiro nods, eyes shining. “Beautiful.” He reclines on the shelf. “I used to dream of exploration. This is a dream come true, to be able to see a whole other world with my own eyes.” He glances at Keith. “Do you have any dreams, Keith?”

The other mer has been watching Shiro. He starts. “Well… not really.” He gazes wistfully out to the ocean. “I used to want to leave Atlantea. Then I did. I wanted a family, and I found Cosmo. I found this nice place to life out my life.”

“You didn’t have a family?” Shiro glances sideways.

“No. My parents died when I was young. I joined the Paladins, Atlantea’s royal guard, but we were too different to ever connect.”

“And now you’re just sitting out here?”

“You don’t approve?”

“No, I don’t.” Shiro shifts to face Keith directly. “Not having a life is no different from death.”

“I do have a life! I have the coral and the ship and Kosmo,” Keith argues.

“But you have no aspirations, no wishes, no wants. No friends. I can’t imagine a life worse than that.”

Keith sits up angrily. “Don’t you dare assume anything about me. This is my life, like it or not.” Before Shiro can react, the red mer dives off the ledge, disappearing into the coral. Shiro is left to watch the coral.

With a zap, Kosmo materializes on the fern. He rubs up against Shiro, sending shocks through his arm.

Shiro looks at the black eel. “Sorry for arguing with your friend. But don’t you agree?” Kosmo gives one last volt and vanishes.

   
  


* * *

 

 

Keith swims back and forth angrily in the hold of his ship. It’s dark but for the cracks in the wood, small ferns and barnacles reclaiming the barrels that still remain the hold. Kosmo isn’t there to listen, so Keith rants to himself.

“What does he know?” He turns in a circle. “I have a life.” Turn. “It’s not his place to criticize me, after I let him stay here!” Turn. Keith bumps into a barrel and whacks it to splinters with his tail. “Rude. I like this! I’m happy!” He leans against a decaying support beam. “I came here to escape being seen as an outsider.” He bumps his head against the wood. “But here he is, some prince, telling me how to change my life and shit.” Keith spins and digs his claws into the beam. “He’s strong. He has to leave. I’ll give him some food and send him to Atlantea.”

Knock, knock.

“Keith?” It’s Shiro, knocking on the hatch. “Keith? Please, I’m sorry.”

Sorry for what? Keith wants to ask. Presuming you know anything about me? Instead, he opens the hatch and swims out. Shiro looks at him nervously. He’s clutching a large dead fish. Keith faces him.

“I think it’s time you leave, Shiro.”

Shock flashes across Shiro’s face, then vanishes. He looks down. “Understood. Thank you for taking care of me.” He risks a glance at Keith’s stony face. “I was going to give this to you as a peace offering. I caught it near the coral mountain.” Shiro offers the fish. It might be a parrotfish, but it’s been greatly mangled by the sharp talons of Shiro’s scaly arm. Keith accepts it.

“Atlantea lies directly to the west. Follow the setting sun. See if the Heart of the Sea can heal you.”

Shiro looks up at the surface towards the sun, and back to Keith. “Thank you for all you’ve done. I’m grateful. I want so say--”

“No!” Keith snaps. His blood red tail beats small, agitated rhythms against the water. “You’ve said enough. Goodbye, Shiro.” He turns, clutching the fish hard enough to kill it again.

“Wait! Please, Keith!” Keith stops but doesn’t turn. “I… I’m sorry.” Shiro takes a deep breath.

“I’ve had everything my entire life. I’m a prince of a great kingdom. I didn’t know my parents but I was always surrounded by friends and relatives. I had my own territory. Anything I wanted, from riches to relationships, was always right there the moment I wanted it. I can’t pretend to understand your life. To guess at anything is wrong of me…

“But if this sorry prince can ask for one more thing… it’s you.” Keith spins around. Shiro’s eyes bore into his.

“From wherever we’ve come from, whatever world, I want your friendship. I want to understand you. You saved my life, and I want to repay that debt- but also, I want to know you. And, I’m sorry.”

Keith regards the merman. Neither of them are moving, but for their hair and tails flowing in the current. Then he bursts out laughing.

“Ha! You are one stuck up prince!” He looks at Shiro’s perplexed expression and doubler over, laughing even harder. “You should see your face!”

Shiro manages a nervous smile. Keith stands back up and wipes a tear from his eyes, becoming serious again.

“I’m sorry too, Shiro. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I find you really interesting, but I think you’re right about being alone out here. I guess I’ve forgotten how to drop my guard and be around people.”

Shiro visibly relaxes.

Keith swims closer. “If that sorry prince asks for my friendship, then that’s something I think I can give. I accept your apology.” He holds out his hand, and Shiro gratefully takes it. His hand is strong, and warmer than a mer’s. Keith thinks he wants Shiro to be his friend.

 

* * *

 

 

 

They’re sitting in Keith’s little place, the stone shelf on the seamount, snacking on an octopus when Keith asks.

“So what’s it like?”

Shiro turns, and slurps a tentacle. “What?”

“Galaxia. Land.”

“Oh, uh. You want to know?”

Keith spits out the octopus’s beak, and offers it to Kosmo. “Yeah. Just because I don’t have dreams doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”

Shiro flinches. “Sorry.”

“Hey, I’m kidding.” Keith pats his shoulder. “But really, what’s it like up there?”

Shiro leans against the stone and looks up to the surface, his eyes somewhere Keith can’t follow. “It’s beautiful. You’re so close to the sun, and it’s so warm. Everywhere, everyone is different. You can lay on the grass and stare at the sun, and feel the earth beneath you without weighted blankets to hold you down. There’s tons of animals, and birds. So many colors. My land has forests, with massive trees who’ve seen eons before you, and will stand long after you are gone.”

“Uh, Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know what a tree is.”

“Oh!” Shiro laughs. “It’s like seaweed, but its base is built out of the same thing as ships, wood, and it has tons of tiny leaves.”

“So… people make them?”

“No! Damn, Keith, it all feels so normal until you have to explain it. It’s a plant.”

“Tell me more.”

“Let’s see. We have snakes, like Kosmo, but they live on land. Some are venomous. We have rivers, and when it’s really hot in the summer you can swim. When it’s cold, in the winter, we huddle around fireplaces and cook stuff in the fires. Like hazelnuts and stuff. It’s a kind of plant, too.”

“What’s fire?”

Shiro frowns. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s hot. It’s not solid. Fire is like the sun, but on earth. It’s wild.” Shiro rubs his eyes. “I miss it.”

Keith gives his shoulder another affectionate pat. “What you describe makes no sense to me. But I want to see it. I can’t imagine something so beautiful being taken away; no wonder you miss land.”

Shiro sniffles. “I’m not crying. Maybe when I go home, you could come with me or something.”

Keith starts. “What, grow legs? I don’t think that would work.”

“Dunno. Can you go on land? Sometimes, people who can’t walk use moving chairs- they have wheels on them, so they move- to get around. You could visit.”

“Maybe,” Keith laughs, “but I couldn’t leave Atlantea. This is my home. Also, Kosmo would murder me. Tentacle?”

The blue merman takes the tentacle and munches on it pensively. “Speaking of Atlantea, it’s been ten days. I think I’m ready to travel.”

Keith nods. “Yeah. Let’s pack up tonight. Some food for the road, and I’ll sharpen my weapons just in case.” Kosmo swims up to Keith with the gnawed-on beak dangling from his teeth. “And Kosmo, will you come with us or guard the house?” The eel wraps himself around a tube coral. “Cool. Shiro, want the last bit of octopus?”

“Nah. You can have it. I’ll go try and catch some fish for the road.”

“The road?”

Shiro sighs. “Figure of speech. See ya.”

“Good luck.” Shiro smiles and swims into the coral forest.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Let’s go,” Keith says. He’s said his goodbyes to Kosmo and sharpened his weapons. He holds his knife, and Shiro holds his bone spear.  Both of them carry satchels woven from old sail, containing a few fish each. Shiro managed to catch several yesterday, discovering that his powerful tail was perfect to catch any fish, however fast it swam.

Shiro yawns. It’s early, the sun hasn’t risen yet and logically Shiro shouldn’t rise either. “Ready.”

Keith takes one last look at his shipwreck, then turns west. “This way to Atlantea.”

The mermen, one dark and one bright red, swim towards the capital of Atlantea.

 

They’ve been swimming for two days. Day and night, only taking breaks when Shiro can’t go on. The gashes on his tail have mostly healed, only leaving scars of knotted, scaleless flesh where they once were. The wound on his shoulder doesn’t seem to be improving. It isn’t infected, the verae saw to that, but it isn’t healing. When Shiro pushes himself too far it bleeds. They’ve swam over coral reefs and trenches, through seaweed forests and plains of sand, and Keith knows the capital is just beyond the next mountain range.

“C’mon, Shiro,” he murmurs, “just a little bit more.”

Shiro gives the red merman a pained smile. “I’m not dying, Keith.”

“Don’t wanna take any risks. Atlantea is just over this range.” Keith offers Shiro his hand, which the big merman grabs like a lifeline. Keith pulls him upwards, and they swim towards the peaks.

This side of the mountain is stony, small bits of seaweed floating here and there but otherwise barren. The sun is setting, sending rays cresting over the mountain but shadowing the mermen. Finally, they crest the seamount.

The ocean magnifies the sun, sending golden rays into the faces of the two mermen. Shiro squints, and glances at Keith. The light bounces off the red mer’s tail, gleaming red practically burning into Shiro’s eyes.

“You look like fire, Keith,” he says. Keith grins.

“I don’t know what that mean, but thanks. Look, we’re here.” He points to their destination.

It’s far away, but Shiro can see the spires. Alabaster towers arc into the ocean, turned gold by the setting sun. It looks like heaven.

“Welcome to Atlantea, Shiro.”

  
  
  
  
  



	4. I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Atlantea, Shiro.  
> (A.K.A. meet the mers)

 

Atlantea is beautiful. The buildings are all ivory, embellished with gold decorations and with panels of glowing blue glass. Merfolk of all colors with flowing hair and colorful tails glide between buildings, looking like something out of Galaxian fairy tales. It reminds him of home.

“C’mon, Shiro, we need to get to the palace,” Keith reminds Shiro, pulling him out of his reverie. Shiro nods. He’s tired, they spent the night outside of Altea because Shiro was too weak to go on. Keith insisted they arrive early morning, so neither of them are well rested.

“Right.”

An alabaster bridge draws a radius to the palace, stretching above the houses of Atlantea. Guards are stationed along it, but they make no move to halt Shiro or Keith. They wear white helmets and armor, each holding a gold spear in one hand and a boomerang-shaped thing in another. 

Shiro looks at them in wonder, but Keith’s face is stormy as he swims. “So you used to be a guard, huh?”

Keith nods. “I was actually an elite soldier, a Paladin, assigned to the Royal Guard, till I left. Look, we’re nearly there.”

They’re approaching the palace. It’s a large castle, white and blue, with four individual spires arcing up into the ocean. 

“Halt!” shouts a voice. 

“State your identity and, er, intent!” squeaks another. 

Three guards stand at the massive doors to the palace. One of them is almost as big as Shiro, with a gold tail, dark skin and a yellow boomerang. One the other side of the door is a skinny mer with a blue tail and his companion, half his height and with a fern green tail whose scales stretch beyond their armor.

Keith swims forward. “Keith Kogane, former Paladin of the king, here on urgent business with his majesty.”

“Keith?” asks the green mer. 

“Oh man, Keith!” yells the yellow mer. He drops his spear and wraps Keith in a massive hug before he can get away. “Long time no see, dude!” 

Keith gently untangles himself. “Hunk…?”

The big merman tugs off his helmet, revealing dark hair and gold spines where his heart should be. “It’s me! Hey, Lance, Pidge, look who’s back!” The other mers set down their spears and tug off their helmets. 

“Hey, Keith. Recognize me?” asks the green mer, whose long auburn hair flows around their shoulders. Keith gently disentangles himself from Hunk.

“Pidge? Wow, you haven’t grown at all!” Pidge snarls playfully, bearing long teeth sharper than any knife or needle.

“Asshole.”

The blue mer ventures forward. He has dark eyes, and elegant teal designs mark his cheeks. “Keith! Hey buddy!”

Keith turns. “Lance? You’re a Paladin now? Those Alt marks are new.”

Lance crosses his arms. They have small teal fins extending from the elbows. “Yeah. I got promoted after you left. I’m going to be trained as the Princess’s personal guard, so King Alfor decided I should morph.”

_ King Alfor. _ That name rings a bell in Shiro’s mind. But as soon as he hears it, it’s gone. 

“Speaking of Alfor,” Keith asks, “I need an audience with him.”

Lance nods. “We’ll go report your arrival. Who’s the big guy?”

Pidge pipes up. “He’s really big! He’s not an Atlantean, is he?” 

“No,” Keith confirms, “but I don’t think I can tell you more than that. 

“Come on,” Pidge whines, “I’m really curious! Lance, go tell the King.” Lance nods and opens one of the doors. With a groan, the alabaster gate swings open, and the five mers swim in. Lance closes the door, replaces his helmet, and darts off. The mers are left in the great entry hall. Groaning, Shiro sits himself down on a bench, and gazes around the hall. The walls arch to the ceiling, illuminated by sconces filled not with fire but some bluish, cold light encased in glass. Pidge sits down next to him, the small mer inspecting him closely.

“Um-” he begins, leaning away, but Pidge interrupts him.

“So, what species are you? You don’t look Balmeran, but I don’t know any other big species. Are you a depth dweller? You’re so dark.” Pidge sniffs. “You smell weird.”

Shiro scooches to the other end of the bench. “Er.” He glances at Keith. Keith shrugs. “I’m not a mer.”

Pidge yanks out some kind of glass contraption from an armor pocket and presses it to their eyes. “Look pretty mer to me.”

“I got turned into a mer. Long story.  Are you an Atlantean?”

Pidge wobbles their head. “Yeah. I’m from an outer settlement of the Empire, so I have some genetic and physical differences to, say, Hunk. C’mere, Hunk?”

Shiro watches quizzically as Pidge shrugs off their chest armor. Like their arms, they have a pale clavicle, but the emerald scales on their tail travel all the way up to just below their shoulders. The green surrounds their ribs, leaving but a stripe of flesh feeding from their collar to their belly button. He sees Hunk also take off his armor, revealing rich brown skin stretching beyond his big, muscular stomach to just above his groin, where begin the gold and yellow scale. “Hunk is from central Atlantea,” Pidge explains. “My people are from a settlement on the outskirts. It was formed to gather raw materials a really long time ago, but eventually the people there developed their own physical and genetic differences than Hunk’s people, the central dwellers. You’ve probably seen Keith’s markings, he’s also some kind of Atlantean variant. My people’s change happened over less than a thousand years, so we theorize it might have been due to exposure to certain elements. That might also explain why around a third of our population is intersex-”

“Pidge, chill,” Hunk breaks in. He addresses Shiro. “Sorry. She loves to geek out about sciencey weirdness.”

_ She?  _ “You’re a she? I thought you were, uh… intersex?”

Pidge laughs. “Nope. I used to pretend to be a guy, for, well. Long story. I’ll tell mine if you tell yours, Shiro?”

“Maybe another time.” Lance enters back into the hallway. “His Majesty was consulting her Highness, but they’ll see you now. Keith, Shiro, follow me.”

The two mers rise and follow Lance into the depths of the castle.

 

* * *

  
  
  


The castle twists and turns, passing massive rooms where mers seem to be sparring and smaller chambers from which big voices emerge (“No, Bi Boh Bi! I did not take your cape!”). Lance finally stops at two great ivory doors. They slide open with a squeak, and Lance stops. He gestures within. “They will meet you here.” Keith nods to the blue merman, and leads Shiro in.

Bright light streams through the chamber, which appears to be some kind of grand balcony looking out on the Atlantean capital. Leaning against the rails is a beautiful mermaid, with teak skin and flowing white hair. Small pink marks like Lance’s trace her cheek and collar bones. Small stripes line her ribs down to her waist, where elegant pink fins announce the change from skin to scale. Pink and amethyst scales flow in swirling patterns down her tail, which ends in a massive fan that beats leisurely against the water. A small white crown rests on her curly hair, which flows beyond her tail and across her breast. Equally beautiful is the older man next to her who looks to be her father. His white hair is straight, pulled into a ponytail. He wears a larger gold crown, and has the same marks of his daughter, but blue. His muscular chest is marred with scars, partially obscured by armor similar to his guards. His eyes are friendly as he glances to Shiro.

“His Majesty, King Alfor of Atlantea, and Princess Allura, heir to the Empire,” announces Lance, who lurks at the doorway. Something about that name rings a bell deep in Shiro’s memory. The princess nods. 

“Thank you. You may leave us now, Lance.” She speaks gently, but her voice carries. Lance blushes, and exits. The doors close behind him. 

“Keith Kogane,” the King says, “welcome back. What brings you here so urgently?” He sounds like a king. 

Keith swims forward and bows deeply. Shiro isn’t sure if he should follow suit, considering he’s a prince of his own kingdom, but he lowers his head respectfully. Keith peeks at Shiro, reassured by his respect.  _ “Let me do the talking,” _ he whispers. He turns to the King.

“Alfor. I found this creature swimming out of the dropoff. I think he came from the north trenches, and he was badly wounded. I fixed him up best I could, but he still needs treatment. He doesn’t seem to remember much, but he seems to have encountered the Galra.”

The King frowns, and swims closer to Shiro. Only an arm’s length away, Shiro can almost feel his heartbeat. Deep in his brain, something is screaming, but Shiro shoves it away. “He’s not mad?”

Keith shakes his head. “He doesn’t sound so. He calls himself Takashi Shirogane. According to him, the Galra took him captive and experimented on him before he escaped.”

King Alfor nods thoughtfully. “And what did they do to Takashi Shirogane?”

Shiro attempts to answer, but he can barely move. The bells in his head have gotten so loud it’s difficult to even hear himself speak. Keith answers for him. 

“He claims to have been a surface dweller. A human. He says that the Galra turned him into a merman.” The King’s eyebrows go up, and he examines Shiro again. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. He seems very… mer to me.” The Princess stifled a giggle, and Keith looks away. “That said, he seems to have no concept of anything mer. He said he’d never eaten raw fish before. He speaks of places impossible to be underwater. And he, uh, didn’t know how to swim.” 

Princess Allura practically snorts with laughter, covering her mouth with her hands. The King backs up from Shiro, and the noise in his head recedes. “Daughter, can you see?” The Princess attempts to keep a stony face and nods. She approaches Shiro.

“What are you doing?” Shiro manages. 

“My daughter has a… way with the ocean,” the King says, “she is especially connecting to the magical heart of this kingdom, and can sense if you belong in the ocean or not.” Shiro nods, and allows the mermaid to touch him. She lays her hands on his shoulders, closing her eyes. Her pink markings glow, and blue light begins to gather at her cold fingertips. It stops before touching Shiro. The Princess gasps and draws back. 

“He is not of this world, Father. And some dark force resides in him. Keith tells the truth.” 

King Alfor’s face darkens. “This means the Galra are gathering. And their technology has surpassed ours, to turn a human into a mer. We have much to be concerned about. But first, our guest needs medical attention. Daughter, please escort Takashi Shirogane to the infirmary. Keith and I will speak privately.”

The Princess nods and smiles reassuringly at Keith before leaving. The doors slide open and she gestures for Shiro to follow her. With one last look at Keith, he exits. 

“This way, Takashi Shirogane. The infirmary is in the east wing.”

“Thank you, Princess Allura. Please call me Shiro.” She smiles, not showing her teeth.

“Then you may call me Allura.”

“Are you sure?” Among Galaxian nobles, only their closest called them anything beyond their title, although tradition had been far more lax at Sky Garrison.

“Of course. Any friend of Keith’s is a friend of mine.” The pink mermaid turns to him so she’s swimming backwards. She was friends with Keith?

“You know Keith?” Allura nods.

“Very well. At a time, he was the leader of the Paladins. They’re Atlantea’s elite guard, in case you didn’t know. He was born after the Great War, where we defeated Zarkon and his Galra force and banished them to the Daibazaal Trench. However, he was one of the chief tacticians during Lotor’s Revolution- oh, the Galra tried to attack Atlantea under Zarkon’s son-” the princess adds, seeing Shiro’s confused expression “- and Keith was instrumental in our victory.” Her face grows distant. “He was our best soldier.”  _ That must be why the King wished to speak to him.  _

“Sounds like you were close.”

Allura stops as the passageway widens into a larger hall. She leans against a gold buttress, looking up to the ceiling. “We certainly were. Keith and I fought together, shared our blood and tears. He was my most trusted advisor. Once I hoped we could be more… but fate did not will it so.”

_ More, like a relationship?  _ “You speak quite freely to someone you have just met, Prin- Allura.”

She laughs, showing her pearly white teeth. “I am a princess, Shiro. I have nothing to hide. Except, perhaps, my secret pet sea mice.” With a wink she swirls into the hall. “We approach the infirmary, Shiro.” 

The hall is round, with white beds lining the walls that unnervingly resemble Sky Garrison’s own infirmary. Three doors fan out opposite from Shiro, all open. One appears to be a hall similar to the one he is exiting, one seems to contain some kind of long, cylindrical pods, and the last looks like a waiting room. At the moment all rooms are empty, save for a lone mer with a electric indigo tail. He’s hunched over some kind of whitish technology, poking away at a blue board that seems devoid of substance. 

“Hello, Coran!” Allura says brightly. The merman spins around delightedly.

“Why, Princess! Who’s this dashing guest?” His hair is fiery orange, some kind of forgotten mullet adorned with a curious bauble. He wears some kind of blue apron over his rather shocking bright orange chest hair. The apron must must signify his position, since Shiro hasn’t seen any mers wear clothes beyond the guards’ armor ‘Coran’ bears a massive orange moustache that twitches as he analyzes Shiro.

“I’m Shiro,” Shiro says, extending his unscaled hand. Coran fist-bumps it.

“I am Coran Heironymus Wimbleton Smythe. Pleasure,” Coran says. “I’m an advisor to the king but most of the young medics are on an outreach program to the edge of the empire. So here I am, Doctor Coranic!” 

“Wait, you’re not- he-s not?” Shiro turns to Allura but she’s gone. She must have left while Coran was introducing yourself. He turns back to Coran.

“So, young’un, what’s up with you?”

“I…” Shiro decides to skip the background. “I cut up my tail by accident but a friend sewed it up, I think I’m fine.” He begins unwinding the bandages around his ribs, hissing as the pull away from the burn-like wound. “I got hit by some weird ray of light, too. It acted like a burn, but concentrated, without areas of lesser damage.”

Coran swims close, inspecting it. “A burn?  Hm… you mean laser. Yes, I see now.” He turns back to a desk near one of the beds and rifles through its draws, finally coming up with some oblong white thing about the size of a hand.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this’ll just assess the wound damage, and kill any threat of infection.” Coran holds it above the wound, and a blue light shines onto the ‘laser’ wound. It travels down the burn. Even though it’s just light, the thing stings slightly, like alcohol Sky Garrison would use to disinfect injuries. “There we go!” Coran says brightly. “I think I’m going to set you in a healing pod for a couple vargas. That’ll fix you right up!” 

“A healing pod?”

“Wow, you don’t know anything about the infirmary! What, never been sick before?” Before Shiro can answer, Coran continues. “The pods put your body into a frozen, comatose state and divert all bodily energy towards tissue repair. The unique chemicals within the pods also stimulate healing. And before you ask, a varga is sixty doboshes.”

Shiro is speechless as Coran gestures to him. “Right this way, Shiro!” Is everything the man- sorry,  _ merman _ does enthusiastic?

Coran guides Shiro into the pod room. It’s dim. Most pods are open waiting for their next inhabitant, save for one. Shiro can see a heavily bruised mermaid looking like she’s asleep inside it. Coran presses a few buttons around the next pod.

“In here! We’re lucky you aren’t bigger, any more and we couldn’t fit!” Indeed, it’s quite a fit for Shiro, who feels almost claustrophobic as the glass walls press in around him. Shiro takes a deep breath. If Keith trusts these people, then he can too. 

“Right-o! See you in a bit, Shiro!” calls Coran. The door slides into place. The temperature suddenly plummets, and then- nothing.

 

* * *

  
  
  
  


Keith swims into the pod room to find Coran hunched over a panel. “Are you taking him out?” The orange-haired mer nods furiously and jabs a final button before leaning back, cracking his spine. 

“Yessir! Give him a moment to defrost.” 

Keith watches Shiro in the pod. To fit, he apparently had to coil his massive tail. It’ll be a hell of a cramp. From here, Shiro looks peaceful, not unlike how he looked sleeping back at the ship. Frost begins to melt from his eyelashes and white hair pouf. He’s probably considered handsome among humans, Keith thinks.

With a gasp Shiro opens his eyes and stumbles out of the pod. He stretches, groaning as his tail unwinds. The merman notices Keith and visibly relaxes, swimming leisurely toward him. “Good morning.”

Keith grins back. “Good evening. You look good.”

Shiro spreads his arms. “Good as new, thanks to your weird fish technology.” Indeed, the wound on his ribs has been reduced to nothing but a pink and white patch in the process of scarring. He addresses Coran. “Thank you, Coran.” 

“No problem-o! Just don’t end up returning any time soon, Shiro!” With that, the eccentric merman jets out of the pod room. Shiro looks at Keith in wonder.

“Does he ever run out of enthusiasm?”

Keith shakes his head. “Never, in all the years I’ve known him. Can you come with me? There’s something I’d like to show you.” Shiro nods, and the two mers exit the infimary.

The red mer leads Shiro down the winding passages like they’re the back of his hand. After all, he spend most of his life soldiering in these very halls. It’s nice to be back, but Keith can’t say he misses it. Same old got old. As they go, he briefs the black-tailed mer on his talk with Alfor. 

“Alfor believes that the Princess can use her magic to revert you to human…?”

Shiro halts. When Keith turns, he sees a strange expression on the mer’s face. It’s like fear, but also hope. In the blue light of the palace, his eyes are shining. At Keith’s quizzical look, he shakes his head. Nothing.

“Alfor is happy to do it, but before he would ask something of you. He insists you can decline, as it is a mer issue and you owe him no service. He’s concerned about the Galra, and would like to send a party to scout out the trenches, evaluate what’s going on. He would like you to lead it.”

Shiro shakes his head. “I was practically unconscious my whole way out. I don’t know if I’d remember the way.”

“Still, Alfor hopes.” Keith stifles a yawn. It’s been a long day.

“Would you be in the group?”  
“Yeah. He’d send you, me, and some elite Paladins. You don’t have to make up your mind right now, but Alfor wants to know tomorrow. Look, here we are.”

“Is this where we’re staying?” Two doors open into large rooms furnished with blue lights and large beds. Each one has a balcony that opens to look over Atlantea, curtains flowing in the water. Keith knows these rooms are usually used for foreign dignitaries, but as an ex-Paladin they’re just as much for him.

“Yeah,” Keith confirms, “will you follow me? I’d like for you to see this.” He swims out to the balcony and Shiro follows suit.

  
  


The balcony opens up to the ocean, and Shiro has to squint from the golden rays of the sunset. His jaw practically goes slack as he drinks it in. The spires of Atlantea reflect and magnify the light. The view from the mountain was nothing; up close Shiro can see the vibrant colors the sunset produces through the stained glass merged with the city.

He elbows Keith playfully. “Do you have a thing for sunsets or something?”

Keith laughs and shoves back. “Maybe I do! They’re pretty! Besides-” he flourishes his tail “-they make me look beautiful.” 

“You are beautiful,” Shiro admits. The light refracts off Keith’s ruby tail, as if he’s bathing in fire.

Keith is just glad Shiro can’t see him blush. 

“In Sky Garrison,” Shiro begins, “the sunsets are the most beautiful you’ll ever see. Depending on the weather, sometimes the clouds are beautiful pinks and reds and oranges and purples, more colors than merfolk, and the sun shines in beams and warms you and you feel like the world is gold. I miss them. You’d love them, Keith.”

Keith nods thoughtfully and leans against the railing of the balcony next to Shiro. He’d never admit it but he’s had dreams of land. But they’re just dreams… Keith yawns. 

Shiro tilts his head into the sunset. “Say, Keith, ever thought of visiting Sky-?” Shiro feels a weight against his shoulder and turns to see Keith leaning against him. “Um, Keith?” No reply. Shiro peeks at his face, and realizes the merman is sound asleep. It makes sense- while Shiro was taking a nap in a healing pod Keith was discussing strategy with King Alfor. And after their early morning, the red mer must just be conked out. 

 

Shiro gently scoops up Keith and swims back to the bed. He pulls back the heavy blankets and tucks the red mer in, careful not to wake him. He looks kind of cute when he sleeps. Shiro wonders if Keith were a human, would he snore? 

 

The black mer notices Keith’s reddish cheeks and touches them on a whim. His skin is soft, but cold, like a fish. 

  
This person has done so much for Shiro. He must begin figuring out some way to attempt to repay the merman before he goes to the surface. Taking his hand away and leaving, Shiro decides that he certainly will _not_ be attracted in any way to Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> suuuuuuure


	5. Towards Some Overwhelming Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Country ROAAADS  
> take me home?  
> -Shiro, probably
> 
> Long road trips are boring. Conversation to lighten it up, maybe?  
> Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short. Next chapter is very, very much longer. Also, no spoilers but I'm running out of synonyms for 'swim.'
> 
> ALSO! Sea mice that Allura has are actually a real thing! They're super cute! (In water)
> 
> Also Kosmo is based off a dead sea-snake I once found on the beach and served to a friend in a sandwich. He didn't eat it, don't worry, but I remember it had black and yellow stripes. Fun stuff.
> 
> Also! My friend actually got bit by a hagfish, pretty neat scar.

 

The sun is just cresting the eastern mountains when the merpeople gather on the Atlantean high road. It’s been five days since Shiro and Keith arrived, and now they prepare to leave. Shiro fidgets with his Paladin armor, the metal on his bare skin a strange sensation. Despite raising a fuss about putting it on again, Keith looks at ease in Paladin garb. Alfor and Allura approach, accompanied by the paladins Shiro met earlier: Pidge, Lance, and Hunk.

 

Pidge yawns. “It’s too early for me.” Hunk elbows her. The King chooses to ignore their fuss and swims forward, stopping in front of Keith and Shiro. That familiar buzzing returns to Shiro’s mind.

 

King Alfor addresses them. “Thank you for participating in this mission, Keith. Takashi Shirogane. I will be sending my daughter with you all.” At Shiro’s confused expression, he explains, “my daughter may be a princess, but she is a skilled warrior. She also holds within her the power of the ocean. Against the Galra, her magic could be priceless.” Keith nods.

 

“We will keep her safe, your Highness.” Allura gives the king an irritated glance.

 

“I do not need protection. Let’s go.” The King nods sadly and squeezes her shoulder, before turning back to the castle.

 

“Good luck, Paladins.”

 

The three Paladins immediately straighten up, giving him a salute before turning to Keith and Shiro.

 

“The plan is to go back to my home,” Keith explains, “then Shiro will guide us and hopefully retrace his steps back to the trenches he escaped from.” He looks gratefully at Shiro. “Once again, thank you for agreeing to come with us. I know how much you want to go home.” Shiro sighs.

 

“I’ll admit, it wasn’t really easy. But I could never return knowing that the people I left behind were in danger. But still, let’s make this quick.”

 

Keith agrees. “Yeah.” He addresses the group. “Now that Shiro is healed, if we go quickly we should make it back to my home before nightfall.”

 

Lance interrupts him. “Then let’s get going!” He cheers, slinging some kind ofmechanic object over his shoulder. It looks familiar.

 

Shiro shudders. “Wait, what’s that?”

 

“Oh, this? It’s my gun. What’s wrong?” Lance shows it to Shiro, who backs away.

 

“The Galra have something like this. They shot me.”

 

Allura places her hand on Shiro. “If so, then the Galra have advanced greatly beyond primitive trench dwellers. We have no time to waste, so Keith. Please lead us.”

 

Keith nods, and with a last glance at the Atlantean capital, leads the group away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“We have some time now. Sooo…” Pidge swims up to Shiro. Smaller, she has to swim harder than the others, but it isn’t deterring her from being an absolute annoyance. The green mer flits around Shiro like a remora on a whale shark. “Tell me your ‘long story’?” Shiro shakes his head. “Come on! I’ll tell you mine if you’ll tell me yours!”

 

Shiro puts on a burst of speed, powerful tail jetting him almost up to Keith, who’s leading the group. Pidge catches up immediately. “I’m not letting this go.”

 

“Fine,” Shiro sighs. He slows down. “You can tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine later. If I feel like it.” In all honesty, Shiro is curious about Pidge.

 

The green mermaid breaks into a toothy smile. “Yay! Well, since you begged…”

 

 

As they swim, Pidge tells Shiro her story. “I’m from Olkarion, and I was trained as an engineer there. Now that they don’t mine raw materials as much, the Olkari have become the leading experts in scientific interface with nature. You should see the capitol, we actually have become capable of animating coral! Everything’s built out of it. I was part of an Atlantean STEM exchange, oh, that’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Anyway, the satellites of Atlantea and the central city all exchanged specialists in order to enhance technological syncretization. Anyway, I came to Atlantea and fell in love with it. I don’t really like coral all that much, I guess I had an overdose in Olkarion.” Pidge wrinkles her nose.

 

“Anyway, I decided I wanted to stay in Atlantea. I wanted to use my skill set in a more military-oriented way, but the only way I could get that clearance was a paladin. Around that time, Lotor began his rebellion and attacked Atlantea. They were recruiting, but only males. Some dumb old remnant of previous kings. I know, right? So basically, I faked being a guy. It was kinda easy since I’m Olkari, and I just cut my hair short. After Lotor’s Rebellion, I thought I might, ya know, come out as a girl, but there was already so much distrust after the war I made the executive decision to wait. Maybe a year later, I started growing my hair out and then I told the other paladins. Keith hadn’t left yet, so he knew too. I never actually told Alfor, though Lance told Allura, so I’m guessing he knows. After all, he repealed the gender law a few years ago. Cool story, right?”

 

Shiro nods. “Back where I’m from, there were massive social protests maybe fifty years or so ago that resulted in women gaining all the rights men, including military service. Even so, there’s still some old-timers who think women shouldn’t serve.”

 

“Assholes,” Pidge mutters. She brightens up. “Now your turn! Where _are_ you from?”

 

Shiro stops and shakes his head. “Maybe… later? We’re here.”

 

Indeed, the other paladins have stopped in the garden of seagrass as Keith swims towards the shipwreck.

 

“Dammit,” Pidge curses darkly. But she can’t hold off her curiosity, and swims after Keith. As the other paladins follow, Allura stops with Shiro.

“I worried Keith might not be very good to himself when he left the paladins, without friends to support him.” She gazes serenely over the gently waving seagrass, small emerald clingfish darting to and fro among the leaves. “But he seems to have done well. Although… I wouldn’t rule out a want of a companion.” With a playful wink, Allura darts over to the shipwreck, leaving Shiro to contemplate what on _earth_ she meant by that.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, the merpeople set out for the trenches. Keith yawns, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He insisted Shiro take the bed since technically the mer was still ‘recovering,’ while the rest of them slept on mats on deck.

Thankfully, no one mocked Keith’s living conditions… except Lance. For the sake of jest, Lance could find flaws in anything (except the Princess). His complaint with the shipwreck was the massive hole in the bow and the lack of a mast, saying that for a ship it wasn’t very shippy. Keith knew it was lighthearted, but it didn’t stop the other paladins from telling him to go find the mast so they could tie him to it. Hunk, ever the food aficionado, especially appreciated the various plants growing on the seamount, and Pidge was absolutely taken by Kosmo. The eel seemed to like her too: in the span of a night, he had left guppies in her supplies no less than three times.

 

Now, the group has ditched their sleeping mats for the sake of fast travelling. The largest mers, Hunk and Shiro, hold most of the rations, and Lance, Keith, and Pidge carry the rest. 

For now, Keith is leading everyone to the point he found Shiro. They swim though vibrant corals, triggerfish, hawkfish, and countless others keeping them company. Pidge points to a tang, and with a zap it’s suddenly in Kosmo’s jaws. Keith’s glad that Kosmo has made another friend, but when they get to the drop off Kosmo will head back.

 

“So how did you find Kosmo?” Pidge calls up to Keith.

 

“I found him getting attacked by an octopus when he was really little. His teleportation skills weren’t very good and the octopus kept catching him, but I could tell he was special. So, I killed the octopus and ate it and raised Kosmo. I’ve had him about two years, and his powers of teleportation keep getting stronger. He’s not your average electric eel.”

 

Lance swims up to Keith and elbows him playfully. “Heeey, you’ve been talking a lot lately. Catfishlet go of your tongue?”

 

Keith elbows him back. “No way, never was a catfish.” The other mers laugh. Keith slows, and grabs on to a yellow coral. “We’ve arrived, everyone. Shiro?”

 

Shiro nods and swims forward. To his back is a vibrant coral reef, full of live and color. In front of him is darkness. Nothingness stretches forward, murky and dark and utterly devoid of life. Shiro shudders.

 

“Shiro?” Keith swims forward. “Can you remember anything?”

 

“Yeah…” Shiro says, but rubs his brow. “Whenever I try to remember, I get this awful headache.”

 

Keith rubs his shoulder. “Take your time. We can’t have a defective guide.”

 

“Uh. Yeah. Also, are you sure he knows the way?” Hunk asks. The large yellow mer crunches on a sardine nervously. “I hate to be the voice of reason, but there’s _no_ maps north of this reef. Just general locations marked after the wars. Guys, seriously. It’s just, benthic murk.”

 

“Everywhere under the photic is the benthic zone, Hunk,” Pidge breaks in.

 

“I know,” he argues, “but still. Would you prefer I called it abyssal? That sure sounds friendly. We don’t even know how deep it is, we could be swimming into hadalpelagic horror!” Hunk yelps.

 

“Hunk!” Lance interrupts his spiral. “We’re the paladins. We got this.”

 

Hunk sighs. “Sorry. Let’s do this.”

 

And with that, they swim into the unknown.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“This is definitely the abyssal plain,” comments Hunk, jotting notes on some kind of water-resistant map. The water is murky with plankton and mud particles, but they can see a muddy bottom that flattens out.

 

“Well statistically, we’re just in the right place for hadal trenches,” Pidge confirms. She scratches at her tail, and plucks one shimmering, emerald scale. “Nobody touch the bottom,” she days, before dropping the scale.

 

Glittering, it drifts down through the water, coming to rest on the mud. There’s a moment of stillness, and then the mud erupts as some hideous jawless hagfish snatches it, ripping the scale to pieces. Pidge shivers. “Ew.”

 

Keith watches the mud settle once again, and has to agree with her. The group continues swimming, until Hunk makes a squeak of horror. “EEEK! Whatisthat?!” It’s a massive, blind fish. Its eyes are milky white, and from its mouth protrudes massive, glinting spines.

 

“Hey, that’s like Pidge if she didn’t brush her teeth,” Lance jokes. Pidge bares her teeth.

 

“Shut up, Lance,” she hisses, but her eyes are playful.

 

Shiro stops. Tail waving, he just stares around the paladins in confusion.

 

“Shiro?” Keith asks, swimming forward. Shiro shakes his head.

 

“I feel like we’re right above whatever I escaped from,” he tells Keith nervously. “My head doesn’t hurt, but I feel some kind of panic.”

 

“We’re not panicking. We’re strong, we can do this,” Keith replies, doing his best to sound confident.

 

Pidge looks at the mud seafloor thoughtfully. Without a word, she snatches Hunk’s writing utensil.

 

“Hey,” he protests, “I was mapping.”

 

Pidge doesn’t reply and drops the pen. It sinks, to the mud floor. But, rather than settling, it keeps sinking, stirring up murk but not finding a floor. Pidge looks surprised.

 

“Shiro’s feelings are right. We must have passed the edge of the plain. This has gotta just be a thick barrier of murky water that conceals what’s underneath.”

 

Keith swims towards the rapidly disappearing pen. “I’ll lead. Come on, everyone.”

 

The six merpeople swim down.

 

Keith has to stop breathing for a moment, closing his gills against the particle-filled barrier.And then, suddenly, it’s clear.

 

And cold. The water is very dark, but Keith’s eyes immediately begin adjusting to the deep water. He can’t see any more muddy water, but when he looks up past the paladins and Shiro behind him, he can see the dark cloud.

 

Being a powerful mer, Keith knows he can deal with cold water, but he’s still coldblooded. Despite having thick, thermal armor they’re gonna have to make this quick, if the mers don’t want to be forced into hibernation. Shiro swims over to Keith. Surprisingly, he seems to be the only one unaffected by the cold.

 

“I recognize this. The facility I escaped from should be just around that corner.”

 

Indeed, they’re in the trenches now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_A/N: this whole area I'm describing actually comes from a recurring nightmare of mine (I have a massive body-of-water-phobia)._

 

 


	6. There will be a Time to Murder and Create

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation: Infiltrate Galra HQ underway! Prepare for migraines, bitey little green fish, and one angry octopus madam!

 

 

Keith leads the way. The team swims in formation, branching out in a “V” like the geese Shiro used to see during the Sky Garrison winter. Those geese used to be the greatest issue of his rulership: every winter they savaged the local farmer’s crops and Shiro would never hear the end of it. It’s funny, he reflects, how much he’d give for those geese now.

 

It’s certainly cold enough for winter down here. All the other mers are shivering. Shiro can feel the cold, but it’s almost like he’s wrapped in a warm sweater.

 

The trench is like a canyon, but dark and wintry. Massive rock walls loom over them on either side, and rockfalls litter the sandy bottom. It’s almost entirely lightless, but somehow Shiro’s mer eyes have adapted, and he can make out the view.

 

“E-everyone,” Allura starts, “I’m going to warm you all up, please do not be alarmed.” Shiro glances back curiously. The pink mer closes her eyes with concentration, and reaches out her hands to the other paladins. Those strange marks on her cheeks begin glowing, and the blue glow spreads to the rest of her body. With each wave of her tail, the light ripples off into the ocean.

Lance gasps. The blue marks on his cheeks are glowing as well, and then his body is. The aura spreads to each of the paladins in turn, then reaching Keith and Shiro.

 

Shiro is suddenly hit with a wave of emotions like a tsunami. Longing, fear, pain, it arcs through his heart and he feels as if he might cry. But with it comes warmth, not just heat but something like a hug, it reminds him of his mother.

 

Allura puts her arms down, and the blue light fizzles off into the ocean. Shiro feels the waves pulling away from shore, from his heart. “Sorry,” she apologizes, “but my magic is rather… general. It tends to target the physical, but this is magic of the soul. It goes straight to your heart.”

 

Shiro nods, rubbing his scaled arm. Unlike the rest of him, it seemed to reject Allura’s magic. It feels colder than before. “So… what is this magic?”

Allura looks uncertain, but Lance shrugs. “May as well tell him. Who knows what’ll happen when we find the Galra, it might be useful.”

 

“Very well then.” Allura faces the other paladins, who have slowed down to listen. Only Keith seems uninterested; he scans the walls of the trench carefully, knife in hand. “I possess a deep and unique connection to the magic of the ocean. The Galra would very much like to get their hands on it, but do not know how great a connection I possess. From every life to each tiny stone on the seafloor, each radiates the energy of their soul. It’s called quintessence, and it all channels into the great magic.”

 

“That sounds like the medicine wheel,” Shiro says thoughtfully. At everyone’s confused looks, he explains. “The native people of my country believe in something that’s not quite a higher power, but draws threads and connects with each individual life. In connecting, it gives life, and when time is up the wheel takes life back to be repurposed for a new soul. I never believed in that magic myself.”

 

“Your people weren’t far off,” Allura replies. “We call it the Heart of the Sea, a primal and inexplicable power that is within all. I have the ability to draw on that, and channel it into my own magic.”

 

 _The Heart of the Sea… that sounds familiar._ “I think I’ve heard that before,” Shiro says slowly. Without warning, an image comes unbidden to his brain: a Galra, leaning over him. Her glowing yellow eyes sear into his brain. Shiro bites back a yell as her yellow eyes burn into his mind.

 

“Shiro!” Keith darts back to them. He looks intently at Shiro, monitoring for signs of pain. Shiro shakes his head.

 

 “I’m fine. I’m okay. I just… When I was prisoner, I think I overheard a conversation. I couldn’t really see anything, but someone was talking about not wasting ‘the Heart.’ There were two voices, and the other called her ‘Milady.’”

 

Allura looks shaken. “It must be the Heart of the Sea. They must have used that magic to transform you.”

 

Shiro nods. “Before they captured me, a mast fell on my arm and practially destroyed it. They must have healed it, and turned it into this.” He gestures at his clawed arm, the deep blue scales glittering ominously.

 

“This is deeply concerning.” Allura sounds a lot more than concerned. During the first war with the Galra, the Galran leader Zarkon had a witch at his side. She was not capable of drawing on the Heart, but once she accessed the Heartshe could easily corrupt it. Her name was Haggar, and she built a fusion of magic and engineering called the Komar that could sap the quintessence out of entire cities. It was destroyed with the Galra empire, though. Could the Komar have been rebuilt?”

 

“Unlikely.” Keith’s eyes are fixed ahead of them as the group swims. “It sounded like they had a limited amount. Right, Shiro?”

 

“Yeah.”

“Then they must have salvaged some quintessence for their experiments.”

 

Something doesn’t make sense. “Then why would they use it on me?”

 

Keith eyes him. “You’re strong, and make a powerful mer. The Galra must have intended to make you a super weapon or something, but you escaped.”

 

Shiro flexes his arm. “They did something strange to my arm, I think. It’s been feeling weird.” Before Keith or Allura can speak, Lance hisses quietly.

 

“Well, you’ll find out soon enough. We got incoming!”

 

Two small spheres are turning the corner of the trench ahead. Tiny and dark, they emit a search beam from an opening in their front.

 

 _Pew! Pew!_ With two shots from his ‘gun,’ Lance drops them. He flashes a grin at Allura.

 

“Are we discovered?” Keith demands. He opens his other hand and suddenly he’s clutching some kind of sword that definitely wasn’t there a moment ago.

 

Pidge swims over and catches one of the slowly sinking pods. She taps it, inspects it for a moment, then shakes her head. “No. Lance’s blast neutralized the alarm and fried the wires. Probably looks like a malfunction to whoever’s monitoring.”

 

“Then we’re close,” Keith decides. “Everyone hug the side of the trench, we have to go carefully from here.

 

They all lean into the canyon except for Lance, who actually wraps his arms around a stone outcropping. Hunk elbows him, and he awkwardly puts his arms down. Allura giggles. The mers creep along the canyon as it curves sharply, until Keith puts out his arm. “Look,” he whispers.

 

As the trench turns, it drops even deeper. Shiro feels his blood chill as he gazes on his prison. Nestled in the stone walls, tracing its way along the trench is some massive building, of dark material but glimmering with lights. Small bright purple windows decorate the structure uniformly, but for one which appears boarded up.

 

“Um, okay, we got what we came for. The Galra are definitely still alive. Very, very alive. Now let’s go back and report to the King.” Hunk turns away but Pidge shoots out her arm and grabs his.

 

“No! Look at this! An entire factory, lab thing built this far under. We have to get closer,” she hisses. The two turn to Keith, who looks at Shiro.

“We should look closer. Are you good?”

 

“Yeah,” Shiro affirms. His head’s been hurting for a while but it’s nothing, really. He shrugs off his pack of supplies, tightening his borrowed armor. The others to the same.

 

“Let’s go,” Keith says, “leave your packs here. Lean up against the rock, we’re going to that boarded up window.” A surveillance pod passes by overhead, and the group flattens into a rocky indent. It doesn’t seem to notice them, and keeps going.

 

The paladins, Keith, and Shiro swim along the canyon until they encounter the building. This close, the dark metal that makes the exterior seems to be humming, and shadows pass through the bright port-holes. They illuminate the seafloor but not the mers below them. The group sneaks under them until Keith gestures up to the boarded one. Taking his dagger, he pries some kind of spikes out of the wood, and it drifts off. One by one, the merpeople slide in, their bodies just small enough. Shiro gets wedged halfway through. He looks at Keith apologetically.

 

“I think I broke this window getting out, and the glass caught my tail.”

 

“C’mon, you got this,” Keith says, reaching for Shiro. Grasping the big merman’s arms he gives a mighty tug and Shiro slides through, crashing into Keith and sending them both reeling down the hall. Shiro immediately tugs away from Keith, rubbing his tail. The two swim back to the group, looking for any signs their ruckus was heard. Nothing.

 

“Um, guys.” Hunk whispers. He looks panicked. “I don’t think I can fit.”

 

Pidge frowns. “Shiro did. Besides, we need you to understand this place.”

 

Hunk shakes his head. “You’re the techie. And Shiro’s _big._ I’m _wide_. I can’t make it through. See, my shoulders will barely fit.”

 

“Why don’t you stand guard, Hunk?” Allura pats the big mer’s muscular shoulder. “Watch our packs, and if you see anything change out there let us know.”

 

“Yes, Princess,” Hunk sighs and withdraws from the window. Lance looks worried.

 

“We should at least be in pairs. I’ll stay with him so I can shoot the drone sphere things.” He darts through the window, blue tail flickering in the light.

Allura turns to face the remaining three. “Well, I suppose we should explore.”

 

\---

 

The hall seems never ending, dark floors leading across the trenches. Shiro can’t find a light source, but somehow the ceiling gives off a bright purple light that reminds him of being imprisoned here. Opposite the windows the walls are interspersed with doors, locked by some kind of mechanism with a glassy pad. Some of them emit machinery noises, others silence, and others whimpers. Pidge swims alongside Shiro, eyes glued to her wrist. The green band of armor around her wrist seems to be projecting some kind of holographic screen and a scanner that scans the walls as they move along. Shiro can tell they’re some kind of readings, but it’s in some strange language. Probably Altean.

 

The hall goes on forever, buzzing constantly worming its way through their ears. Then, Shiro hears voices. He can’t discern what they’re saying yet, but Keith frantically gestures to the nearest door. The group swims to it, trying to figure out how to open it. Shiro pulls on the glass pad, but nothing seems to give. The voices are getting closer.

 

 

“So, Project Kuron really did fail.”

 

“Yeah, her connection to Study One ran out before it reached the target.”

 

“Damn. If she got ahold of it again I hear she could force reactivation.”

 

Defeated, Shiro slams his scaled hand onto the glass pad. It lights up. The doors open. The group practically falls into the room as the doors slide shut behind them. The room slowly lights up.

 

A circular overhead lamp bathes the room in a harsh purple glow. Metal cabinets line one wall, and an array of technology not unlike that of Atlantea another. And in the middle of the room, an operating table. Lined with cuffs and chains, and Shiro can see himself there…

 

His mangled body, bruised and bloody, strapped to that table. His arm shredded, and those blades cutting away torn flesh, injecting him with bright fluid, sharp needles piercing his flesh, blades drilling deeper and deeper and-

 

Shiro falls back against the door, shaking. Keith had been inspecting the cabinets but races forward to catch him. He props up the large mer, rubbing his back as he gasps for breath.

 

“I was- I was here! They took-” Shiro attempts to bury his face in his hands, shuddering, but yanks his scaled hand away the moment the dark monstrosity touches his face.

 

Keith does his best to calm him down. “Breathe. Breathe, Shiro.” Shiro nods and takes deep gasps of water, but even the water here tastes like death.

 

Allura swims back to the door. “We should leave here. I’ve seen enough, I can feel the lingering quintessence. We’re not strong enough to face this facility, but father can sent the full might of Atlantea back. Let’s go.” The others nod, and Allura reaches her hand out to the sliding door panels. But before she can touch them, the doors slide open and a large gun presses into her face. The princess backs away slowly.

 

Beyond the door are four Galran soldiers, purple monstrosities in dark armor. They aim their glowing guns into each of the paladins threateningly. In front of them floats that face, the one from Shiro’s nightmares. She has a thin, pointed purple face and red marks flow from her chin to her eyes. Her eyes, burning, glowing yellow.

 

She wears a dark cloak, surrounding her body and hooded over her stringy white hair. From below the cloak, emerges black and magenta… tentacles, like an octopus. Not any mer Shiro has ever seen, although he hasn’t seen that many. The creature bears her teeth.

 

“Drop your weapons,” she growls. She’s the ‘Milady’ that experimented on him, no doubt.

 

She tilts her head to the side, coming to a stop at the door. “I feel… quintessence…” Her head snaps to Allura. “You! Guards, capture that girl! She’s the Heart of the Sea!”

 

The guards surge forward, but suddenly Keith is there, slamming his tail into two guards and swinging his dagger at the other. The light purple one dodges, but the big Galra is slower, and the blade slices through the fur on his neck. He falls to the side, covering his neck and choking on dark blood.

 

“Come on!” Keith yells. He grabs Shiro by the hand and swims for his life the way they came, Pidge and Allura close behind. Shiro can hear more guards closing in, but Pidge turns and repeatedly fires her gun down the hall. She must have carried it in her armor, but judging by the smoke particles suddenly drifting through the water it must pack some firepower. Pidge fires a last shot and catches up with the group.

 

“Sorry!” Allura yells. “But that witch… there’s no mistake, she is Haggar! She built the Komar!”

 

“Save it till we’re free,” Pidge replies. Her gun begins to emit a green light, then it elongates into some kind of triangular blade, a close-range weapon. Shiro hasn’t seen that before. He does see the broken window up ahead that they broke in with. But, coming down that side of the hall is even more guards. “Go!” Pidge hisses, swinging her blade at the guards approaching them from behind. Haggar leads them.

 

Allura holds out her hand, a glowing ball of light beginning to form. With a yell she hurls the magic at the sentries guarding the window and it explodes, sending guards flying every which way with a crackling, electric noise. Allura reaches the window and darts out. Pidge jabs a guard in the chest, then follows.

 

It’s just Shiro and Keith, pressing up against the wall as the witch and her guards approach.

 

“Shiro, get out! I’ll hold them off,” Keith calls to Shiro, swimming in front of him. Haggar chuckles.

 

“Neither of you are leaving today,” she hisses. Shiro stabs out with his spear, going straight through the stomach of a guard too close. The others look hesitant to charge.

 

“Shiro, go,” Keith mutters, pushing Shiro to the window. Shiro swings his spear again, keeping the guards at bay.

 

“I’m not leaving you!” the big mer’s spear glances off Galra armor.

 

“Fine,” Keith yells, and swims out the port hole into the dark waters. He leans backin to grab Shiro’s bicep and tug him out.

 

Haggar howls. “No!” She holds out her withered purple hand and a ball of darkness begins to glow there. Unlike Allura’s, the energy can only be described as evil, and Shiro feels like his life is dripping into a puddle on the floor. With a yell, Haggar projects the ball, sendings arcs of blackness straight at Keith.

 

Shiro can see the darkness, see Keith’s shocked face as he registers the target of Haggar’s magic. Right before it hits Keith, Shiro hurls himself in front of the red mer, and takes the blast.

 

Pain. Every cell, every atom in his body is on fire from his head to his tail. His arm feels immersed in boiling lava, his skin and flesh and bones melting away, and the witch is inside him, shredding his brain and burrowing deep inside. The pain subsides slowly.

 

Shiro opens his eyes to find his hands grasped by Allura and Keith as they drag him away from the Galra lab. Alarms are blaring through the water surrounding the facility, but it seems soldiers haven’t been deployed yet.

 

Shiro spoke too soon. As he pulls away from the mers to swim on his own, a segment of the stone trench face opens behind them, purple light spilling out onto heavily arms Galra soldiers. Shiro and the others dash around the trench corner to find Pidge with Lance and Hunk.

“I told them everything,” Pidge says.

 

Lance releases the pack he was holding. “We gotta go. If we swim as fast as possible we can make it back to Atlantea in around half a quintant- hopefully the soldiers won’t follow us. Let’s abandon the packs.”

 

Keith nods grimly. “Shiro, can you handle it?”

  
“Yeah,” Shiro nods. His head feels as if it’s splitting in two, but he can still swim. “We should take off our armor to swim faster.”

 

Hunk shivers, but agrees. “I guess. But we’re gonna be really, really cold. And exposed to the Galra guns.”

 

Allura begins unfastening her armor. “We can break the silt layer and get away from the trenches, it will be warmer. Everyone, let’s go.”

Keith, Shiro and the paladins all unbuckle their armor as they swim away as fast as possible from the Galra. Shiro just sheds the last of his heavy chest plating when they reach the drop off into the trench.

 

Lance is about to turn to check back on the Galra advance. Shiro can barely open his mouth to warn the blue mer when a ray of light fires out of the trench, hitting Lance square in the back.

 

“Lance!” Allura cries, dropping her helmet to catch the fainted mer. His gills move slightly.

 

“We have to keep going,” Shiro ventures. “I’m the strongest swimmer here, I think. I can take him.”

 

Allura reluctantly passes Lance to the big merman. “Go on ahead. Swim as fast as you can with him.”

 

“Get above the murk,” Pidge calls. “It should mess with the Galra detection and they might not follow.

 

Shiro nods. He looks at Keith, who mouths something. “What?” Shiro asks. Keith shakes his head.

“We’ll find you. Go quickly.”

 

With that, Shiro shoots off into the gloom.

____

 

 

 

Shiro is approaching the layer of dark murk that separates the trenches from the upper oceans. He almost feels disgusted, having to swim through the gross slime, but he takes a deep breath and dives through it.

 

With a gasp, he surfaces. The water is bright and much, much warmer here. Time to head for Atlantea. Shiro can’t quite explain, but somehow he knows which way to go. He’d been a good navigator as a human, too.

 

He _is_ a good human navigator. He will return to land.

 

Shiro propels himself forward with his powerful tail. He’s never quite tested its limits before, but now he realizes how truly strong the Galra made him. Even with Lance in tow, clutched under one arm, he finds himself at a speed to match Galaxia’s fastest ships.

 

The big mer swims up and up, until he can see the surface of the water clearer than the benthic murk. Far in the distance, Shiro can see faint color in the water- red. Is it Keith? As he gets closer, the big mer realizes that he’s approaching a coral reef, meaning the borders of Atlantea.

 

He’s been swimming for quite a while, Shiro thinks, maybe an hour or two. Or varga? The Atlanteans keep time differently. Vargas or hours Shiro can feel himself slowing down. Strength is nothing without stamina. He decides to take a break once he reaches the reef, and maybe the Atlanteans will catch up.

 

Finally, Shiro approaches the coral. A steep cliff rises from the murk and growing on the top is a beautiful reef, rich with all kinds of coral and seaweed and fish Shiro could never name.

 

Shiro rests himself on a yellowish table coral, laying Lance down gently. The blue mer makes a groan, but otherwise remains unconscious. The wound in his back is an ugly red, tinged in the black of scorched flesh. It doesn’t seem to be that deep, thankfully: his spinal cord is untouched.

 

Gazing down into the sand surrounding the coral outcrop, Shiro notices a pugnacious face glaring back at him. Its widely spaced eyes glare at him from beneath a sand. The merman curiously flicks his tail near the eyes. Almost faster than Shiro can follow, the fish darts out of the sand, jagged teeth snapping an inch away from Shiro’s fin. Disappointed, the hideous creature sinks back into the sand. Shiro misses the land.

 

He’s just deciding to carry on when he catches a glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Looking back to the dropoff, he sees bright reds, yellows and greens reflecting the sun off somewhere. Shiro would know that shimmer anywhere, it’s Keith.

 

 

\------

 

 

Keith, Pidge, Allura and Hunk slow down as they reach Shiro and Lance. Keith greets Shiro, squeezing his shoulder gently. The dark merman replies with a nervous smile. Keith doesn’t blame him, having to see the Galra facility again.

 

Pidge groans, probing her mouth carefully.

 

“You should have known it was a bad idea to bite a Galra,” Hunk scolds her. She bares her teeth at him, two sharp points missing.

 

“Well if I hadn’t, he’d have shot you! Besides, I thought those weird ridges on his shoulder were cartilage. Who even has bone there?!”

 

“Galra, apparently,” Keith adds. Banting with the paladins almost makes him miss Atlantea, Keith thinks. That’s why he has to finish this Galra mess up quickly, before he forgets why he chooses to be alone, before he gets attached.

 

The little green mer is about to make a snarky reply, but Allura speaks first. She frowns as she speaks, rubbing her hand against an abrasion on her pink tail. “It is good we have caught up. Hunk, are you sure we can make it to Atlantea?”

 

Hunk nods, examining his map. He turns it sideways. “Yeah. We took the long route getting to the trenches, but they’re actually closer to Atlantea than Keith’s wreck. No offense, Keith, I mean, it’s a shipwreck. Think of a triangle, and we’re good to go. How’s Lance?”

 

Shiro props up the unconscious paladin. “Alive. We should hurry.”

 

“Hunk, you take Lance for now,” Keith directs. He surveys his crew quickly, checking for injury or exhaustion. They’re all battered, but not safe until they reach Atlantea. “Let’s go. Shiro and I lead, then Hunk, then Allura and Pidge, guard the rear. Allura, do you think you can use some of your magic on Lance? Ease the pain or something?” Allura nods determinedly.

\--

 

Shiro swims up to Keith as they swim west. The sun is beginning to set, illuminating the ocean in the bright rays Keith finds so much comfort in. The water is slightly warmer, thawing Keith’s chilled bones. Shiro looks beautiful in the sun, Keith thinks. It lights his skin gold, and adds new depths to that obsidian tail. Shiro’s scaly hand just looks dead in the light, though. Despite having the same scales as his tail, the hand consumes all of the sun, a matte oily monster that Shiro’s soul doesn’t seem to extend to. Shiro notices Keith looking and pulls the arm close to his body. Neither speaks for a long time.

 

Finally, Keith ventures to speak. “Allura will take care of that for you.”

 

Shiro nods, but doesn’t seem too hopeful. “I lost my arm when I lost my ship. This _thing…_ isn’t mine, but I don’t know what will be left when it’s gone.” Keith doesn’t have a reply for that.

 

“Forget I said that,” Shiro says suddenly. “I just want my legs back. I want to be human. I can do that without an arm. But…” He glances sideways at Keith. “Imagine if the scales were gone and it was like, a tiny arm!”

 

At that mental image Keith can’t help but burst into laughter. He snorts, sending Shiro into bouts himself. “You…” Keith gasps, “You’d still look great, though.” _Shit._

 

Shiro blushes. “You’re too generous, Keith. Hey, imagine you with legs!”

 

Keith looks down at his tail. “It would be interesting, seeing all that skin. And trees.”

 

“It would be a shame to lose your tail,” Shiro comments, observing Keith as they swim.

 

“What, really?”

 

“Yeah. It’s beautiful.”

 

“It’s just a tail.”

 

“I guess, but it really is amazing. Your scales look like they’re made of precious gems or something, and like fire in the sunlight. Especially so in the sunset. It’s like you’re a fallen shard of sun.” Shiro suddenly shuts up, looking embarrassed. Keith thinks it’s kinda cute.

 

“I suppose I can’t argue with that. Um. You have a really pretty tail too? It makes me think of deep, cold, refreshing water. And I’m out of poetry.”

 

Shiro turns to look at his tail. “Sometimes I’d dream of wanting a tail like this, something beautiful, but now that I got one I just want it gone.” Keith nods.

 

“It’ll be gone soon enough. The Heart of the Sea will turn you back, and then you can return to Galaxia and never have to see us again.” That came out a bit ruder than Keith intended.

 

“I’ll miss you.” The big mer looks sideways at Keith. “Maybe… maybe there’s some way you and I could visit?”

 

“I don’t know,” Keith says pensively. “I’m a fish. I’ll dry out on land, and my gills probably can’t handle all the air. We could swim together, maybe. Is Galaxia near?”

 

Shiro’s face brightens. “I think so. If I’m still in the Arusian Ocean, then the south shore is Galaxia. Sky Garrison has a massive light tower that guides ships, I’ll be able to find it.”

 

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Keith asks. Some little voice in his head tries to whisper something at him, but he forces it down. “Let’s hurry it up to Atlantea,” the red mer calls to the others, as that voice murmurs: _I don’t want you to leave._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I'm actually several chapters ahead of where I'm publishing. I'm trying to post every Monday to give myself some breathing room, I know I missed the deadline this week but I'll try again next week.
> 
> Hey did you know I can't write romance? I'm guessing my way through this and would LOVE feedback.
> 
> True to Ribbit's story there should be smut eventually but I'm having a very h a r d time not thinking of genetalia in terms of cloacas and hemipenes. Thankfully I haven't got *quite* that far yet.


	7. I Should Have Been A Pair Of Ragged Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Project Kuron worked, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay I know I keep saying Monday, sorry! I'm just gonna post when I feel like it from now on, I'm running out of reserve chapters. Anyway, stage seven! The end still isn't in sight, but neither is the beginning anymore!
> 
> Also I know I'm really mean to Hunk, I'm sorry, I truly love him but he and Shiro had the least interaction in VLD. He's a voice of caution, and sometimes we don't like listening.

They arrive in Atlantea exhausted and battered in the late evening, tails and bodies sore. Allura leads the way once they arrive at the palace, the guards immediately opening the doors for her. She pauses and faces the others. “Hunk, take Lance to the infirmary. Pidge, I want you to immediately upload all your data for processing with Trigel, then get to the infirmary yourself. Keith, Shiro, you two come with me to speak with my father.” Gone is the mermaid from the mission, Allura is now a commanding princess. With tired noises of acknowledgement, the other mers split, each off on command. Allura leads Shiro and Keith.

 

“This late, we shall speak with Father in his private chambers. Our news is urgent. I will speak with him first, alone.” She pauses, looking at the two mermen before gliding inside a pair of double doors guarded by silent, armored sentries. Keith and Shiro lean against the wall, too tired to speak.

 

Inexplicably, Shiro finds the buzzing in his head returning again. He shakes his head, wondering if he’s allergic to the king.

 

“You good?” Keith asks.

 

“Yeah.”

 

The doors open again and Allura reemerges. “The King will see you now. I… I am going to check on Lance in the infirmary.” Keith smiles tightly at her.

 

“I’m sure the sight of you will heal him instantly,” he jokes. Allura looks relieved and swims away.

 

As the two mers enter the king’s chambers, Shiro distantly notices that Allura pronounces Lance’s name ‘Lonce.’

 

 

Shiro and Keith swim into the king’s room. He’s floating in the center, no longer wearing his armor. As Shiro looks to King Alfor’s face, he can only see the look of concern before an arc of bright-white lightning tears through his brain.

 

Shiro cries out, tumbling to the wall and clutching his temples as he prays for the electricity to be gone. But it doesn’t, it just gets more intense until his entire skull is writhing in pain.

 

_Give in._

 

The voice comes from nowhere and everywhere, echoing in his eardrums and clawing at his eyes. It’s deep and vicious- it’s Haggar.

 

“No!” Shiro cries, propping himself against the marble. But Haggar’s voice is back, serrated echoes lashing his soul into a bloody mess.

 

_You are mine now. Give in._

 

Distantly, Shiro can hear Keith. The concern is audible, but his words blend into a river that his flaming mind evaporates before Shiro can understand.

 

The lightning digs barbed grapnels into his flesh, tugging him towards some place, some darkness and Haggar’s voice is offering him a way out, sweet relief from his pain, his _pain_.

 

Shiro screams, but the pain has dug it’s teeth in and he’s falling, falling…

 

\-----

 

 

Keith doesn’t understand what’s going on. One moment Shiro was fine, and then he was shaking and crying and incoherent, grasping the wall like a lifeline.

 

Keith had tried to talk to him, ask him if he was okay, reached out for him, but then a scream like a dying thing came out of the big mer and Keith didn’t know what to do. Alfor didn’t seem to know either, concern in his eyes but reaching out for his weapon, a gold trident.

 

The red mer leans down to where Shiro is crumpled against the wall. He’s trembling, head hung as if lifeless. Keith nervously rests a hand on his bicep, unusually cold. “Shiro?”

 

The trembling stops.

 

Shiro’s head snaps up, startling Keith away.The dark mer straightens up.

 

“...Shiro?” But it’s not Shiro.

 

 

This… _thing_ rises, flicks that white tuft out of his eyes with a jerk of his neck. His pupils have expanded over his entire iris, and some purple light glows from within. Not sparing a glance at Keith, he lunges for King Alfor, his scaled hand suddenly emanating a malevolent glow.

 

The King is remarkably fast to react, raising his trident to block Shiro’s vicious slice. His hand plows right through the trident, but the metal slowed him down enough for the king to dart out of the way.

 

“Alfor!” Keith shouts, “Get out!”

 

The king looks doubtfully at him, but another attack by Shiro makes up his mind. Swimming madly for the doors, Alfor calls, “I shall send in guards!” The door opens, he darts through, they close. Shiro slams into the doors only a second too late, snarling.

 

“Shiro.” Keith calls cautiously, circling the big mer. “Shiro, it’s me.”

 

Shiro turns to his voice, something dark and deadly glimmering in his eyes. “Keith.”

 

“Shiro, please. What are you doing?”

 

“My mission!” Shiro cries, diving at Keith. Keith dodges and, realizing that he still has his dagger, pulls it out.

 

Approaching, Shiro swings his glowing hand at Keith, who parries it with his knife. Shiro punches him with his free hand. Shiro’s as strong as he looks and his fist sinks into Keith’s stomach, sending him flying across the room.

 

“You’re not yourself, Keith,” Shiro taunts, flexing his hand. “Something’s holding you back.”

 

“I don’t wanna… hurt you,” Keith wheezes, purple blood trickling from his mouth. Just then the doors open again, and two armored guards dash into the room. Behind them are the paladins. Pidge, Hunk, and Allura enter, bruised but ready, armed and armored. Allura frowns as she sees Shiro.

 

“Keith… what is going on?”

 

Keith rises unsteadily. “Shiro isn’t himself. I think he’s being controlled.”

 

Shiro laughs cruelly. “I’ll go through all of you to get Alfor.”

 

“We must stop him,” Allura commands. She’s carrying some sort of whip, probably her chosen weapon, and unwinds it.

 

“ _Hya_!” The two other guards and Pidge behind them lunge at Shiro. He spins faster than Keith can track, hand at the ready.

 

Keith doesn’t know how but he catches one of the guards, glowing hand driving straight through their stomach. Impaled, the guard gasps as their purple blood drifts through the water. With a noise of disgust Shiro removes his hand, using his tail to knock the body away. He turns and catches the other’s incoming charge, flesh and blood hand yanking the spear out of the guard’s grip. He tosses it away, and shoots out his scaled arm to catch the guard by the neck. Eyes cold, he crunches body and bone of their neck.

 

 _Pew! Pew!_ Hunk’s cannon sends arcs of light at Shiro, who whirls and uses the second guard’s body as a shield before hurling it away. The body crashes into Pidge, attempting to sneak up on Shiro.

 

“Argh!” Pidge yells as she’s pinned under the weight of the guard.

 

Keith gapes. In barely a minute, Shiro- his Shiro- killed _two_ people.

 

“Keith!” Allura yells, “we need you!”The red mer nods, snapping back to the action.

 

Hunk continues his barrage, pinning Shiro behind a marble column to shield himself from the blasts. Nodding silently, Allura and Keith approach from either side. Keith turns around the column, swinging his knife at Shiro, who dodges. He raises his glowing arm to strike, but Allura’s whip strikes first. Wrapping around his arm bicep to wrist, the glowing rope immobilizes him. Snarling, Shiro raises his other arm to attack her but then Pidge attacks, her Bayard swinging around his elbow. Pidge’s weapon is some kind of boomerang or grapnel not unlike Allura’s. It swings around his elbow and secures itself, and Shiro is immobilized.

 

All that’s left is to stop him. “Go!” Cries Pidge, the little mer struggling to restrain Shiro.

 

But Keith looks at Shiro and realizes he doesn’t know what to do. He can’t stab him. He can’t _hurt_ Shiro.

 

Then it’s too late. With a yell of exertion Shiro drags his arms together, yanking Pidge and Allura into each other. Pidge collides with Allura’s breastplate, and is out cold. Keith lunges at Shiro, but without a glance Shiro’s powerful tail slams into Keith, knocking him into a wall.

 

With a cry Allura throws herself at Shiro, but he seizes her shoulders before she can attack and slams his forehead into hers with a sickening crunch. He releases the unconscious mermaid and turns to face Hunk. Keith knows that massive cannon isn’t good at close range and Shiro must know too, because he throws himself at Hunk. With his massive tail he zooms at the large merman, who holds his ground and continues firing. A ray punctures Shiro’s tail fin but he doesn’t seem to notice, soaring to Hunk. With his glowing hand he knocks the cannon out of Hunk’s hands, striking Hunk’s head with the other. Unlike Allura Hunk is wearing a helmet, and the punch only knocks his helmet off.

 

In a rare burst of confidence Hunk grins, and swings back at Shiro. Keith rises shakily from the wall, grasping his knife. The two trade blows, punching back and forth, Shiro fighting with his glowing hand and Hunk blocking with his gauntlets, moving slowly backwards. But then, there’s nowhere left to go and the yellow merman is trapped against the wall. He realizes this, and in that moment Shiro punches right into Hunk’s jaw, knocking him clean out. He raises his scaled fist to slice through his throat.

 

“Wait…” Keith croaks, raising his blade. Shiro grins without humor and releases Hunk.

 

“That’s the Keith I remember!” Shiro shouts as he lunges at Keith. Keith throws himself out of the way and Shiro slams into the wall. Keith swings his fist, punching right into the healing wound on Shiro’s ribs. Shiro gasps but recovers quickly, spinning his glowing hand at Keith. Keith barely manages to dodge but Shiro’s hand slashes upwards across his face, burning a deep gash in Keith’s cheek. Keith groans and is too slow to avoid Shiro’s long reach, and his other hand catches Keith’s neck, forcing him up against the wall. Keith gasps and scrabbles for his knife.

 

Shiro raises his glowing Galra hand, preparing to strike. “I will kill you!” He hisses.

 

“Shiro, please.” Keith struggles weakly.

 

“What,” Shiro mocks, “gonna beg for your life?”

 

“Please, Shiro, stop. I… I love you.”

 

The words take Shiro by surprise, but he’s not the only one. Keith doesn’t know where those words came from; some deep part of his soul that he’d kept down. It now peers its pale face into the warm daylight.

 

Shiro hesitates. For a moment, his eyes are back to normal and his hand around Keith’s throat weakens. Shiro hesitates, and it’s all Keith has to swing his daggerright through Shiro’s scaly arm.

 

Keith’s strong, and desperate, and it only takes one swing to sever the arm clean off above the dark scales. Shiro screams with a sandpaper throat, clutching his arm as black blood billows out. The big merman groans and slumps against a wall, the black slowly changing to bright red, drifting away with his consciousness.

 

Keith rises shakily as Allura wakes up. She looks around in panic, then notices Shiro and the severed arm and relaxes, taking a deep breath. Just then, a platoon of soldiers burst in, King Alfor behind them. Everyone takes in the scene, until Alfor takes command.

 

“Plaxum, Swirn, Blumfump, see to the wounded. Antok, and Kolivan… please take care of the dead. Hira, get a medic and take Takashi Shirogane down to the dungeons.”

 

The protest dies in Keith’s throat. He’s too tired… Plaxum swims up to him. She’s a pretty mermaid, one of the cold water colony varieties. Her people have anemone-like strands instead of hair that Keith made the mistake of touching once. His finger turned blue and he couldn’t feel it for a week. Keith realizes that his mind is drifting. He’s too physically and emotionally drained to do anything.

 

As if Plaxum can sense his turmoil, the mermaid says nothing and simply holds on to his elbow, guiding him to the infirmary. As they leave, Keith turns back one more time to see Hira scooping up Shiro. Stone-faced, the mer holds him by his bloody shoulder as she casts a look at the dead.

 


	8. A Hundred Visions and Revisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(

Keith wakes in one of the beds in the infirmary. He sits up slowly, groaning at the pain that seems to have settled throughout his entire body. As he yawns, Keith realizes a heavy pad has been bandaged across his right cheek. It must be from when Shiro hit him.

 

 _Shiro!_ Keith struggles out of bed _. He has to find Shiro._

 

“Woah! Calm down dude!” A familiar voice draws Keith’s attention back to his surroundings. In the medical bay, his bed is surrounded by about ten others, three of which are occupied. Lance sits in one of them, torso heavily bandaged. He waves weakly to Keith. In the other beds are Pidge and Hunk, both mers either asleep or unconscious.

 

“What… happened?” Keith asks. His torso isn’t bandaged like Lance, but his gills are heavily bruised and it hurts to talk.

 

“I can answer that,” replies a regal voice. Allura. She enters the room slowly. She’s wearing the royal tunic, but in place of her usual crown is a bandage. The princess comes to sit on the side of Lance’s bed, who blushes furiously. Keith nods.

 

“Shiro’s arm has been taken care of. He currently is in the dungeon, and has not yet awoken.”

 

“What’s going to happen to him?” Keith asks, throat dry.

 

Allura looks at Keith, pity reflected in her purple eyes. “In all likelihood, he will be executed.”

 

“ _What!?”_

 

The princess shakes her head. “There is no doubt Haggar controls him. He tried to kill my Father and succeeded in killing two guards. When he wakes up, who’s to say what damage he could cause? Furthermore, Haggar could be able to use his body to spy on us. He isn’t one of our own, there is no hope nor reason to keep him alive.”

 

 _“No.”_ Keith rises from the bed and swims towards the exit. He needs to see Shiro. He can hear the warning begin from Allura, but it dies on her lips when he leaves. Once out of the infirmary he takes on speed, dashing down halls deeper and deeper in to the belly of the castle.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The dungeons are in the very deepest area of the castle, underground in a system of caves lit by bioluminescent flora. At the moment, it seems their only prisoner is Shiro. Hira still guards him, leaning up against the cavern wall. She speaks mutely with Romelle, a sweet mer who Keith recalls was dating Hira last time he was in Atlantea. Keith thinks she deserves better.

 

Hira notices him first. “You shouldn’t be here, Keith,” she warns, but Romelle lays a hand on her shoulder.

 

“He knew the prisoner. We can give him at least this.” Hira agrees reluctantly and turns away.

 

“I still won’t open the cell.” Keith nods. He dives towards the first cell.

 

It’s very dark, the only light from some interesting algae growing on one of the walls. Keith’s heart catches in his throat. Leaning against one of the walls is Shiro.

 

The manacles were meant for two armed people, so one hangs loose and the other cuffs Shiro’s intact arm to the wall. His severed arm is little more than a stump, thankfully bandaged. A ring of iron protrudes from the stone floor, pinning Shiro’s tail by the base, right before his blue tail fin.

 

Keith grips the bars of the door tightly. Shiro’s face is downturned, expressionless, unconscious. “I’m gonna get you out of here,” Keith promises quietly. With a glance at the distracted Hira, the darts away.

 

When he returns to the infirmary, Pidge and Hunk have woken up. Pidge consumes some kind of bass with her needly teeth, while Hunk gently massages his bruised arms. Allura is still on Lance’s bed, chatting with him. She stills when Keith enters.

 

He swims into the center of the room. “Paladins…” he begins slowly. They all swivel their heads towards him. “Shiro’s gonna die. We need to save him. With or without you, I’m breaking him out of there. I’ll take on this entire castle if I need to.”

 

“What will you do from there?” Lance asks.

 

“I’m not quite sure. I think I’ll take him to my shipwreck and wait for him to recover.” Lance nods, frowning.

 

“You’re being stupid but I liked Shiro. I’ll help.”

 

“You’ll need someone to figure out an intricate escape plan!” Pidge chimes in, cleaning her teeth with a fish bone. Allura shakes her head.

 

“This is foolish. It might be better to ensure he never gets the chance to cause any more pain.”

 

“That wasn’t him, that was Haggar,” Keith reminds her.

 

“Yeah, I’m with Allura,” Hunk says nervously. “I saw the hatred in his eyes. I don’t think that’s going away.”

 

“Shiro would never give up on us!” Keith yells. He knows he’s losing control of him emotions but this is _Shiro._ “He was my friend. Even if he wasn’t yours, I was once your friend. I was a paladin. Help _me._ ”

 

“This dumbass is gonna do it whether we help him or not.” Lance tells Hunk. “We may as well keep our friend from getting captured.”

 

Hunk wilts. Keith knows Hunk’s soft spot is his friends. Finally, Hunk sighs, shakes his head. “Fine. I’ll help. Allura?” She still looks reluctant.

 

Lance reaches out and places a hand on her tail. “Please?” She smiles at him.

 

“Fine. I shall help you. I can get him further away from Atlantea.” At the paladins’ confused looks, she clarifies. “The Heart of the Sea. I can make him human again. Besides,” she adds, a twinkle in her eyes, “you will need someone to get yourselves past the guards.”

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

As it turns out, they don’t need help getting past the guards. Distantly down the dungeon caverns the team can hear rather inappropriate moans and gasps. Allura’s face is pink as she comments, “If this were any other situation I might reprimand them for… neglecting their duties.”

 

“They certainly aren’t neglecting each other!” Pidge cackles.

 

Hunk scoops up a set of keys from where they hang on a hook in the wall. As he unlocks the cell, he chatters nervously. “You know, for such an advanced civilization, we really have the worst guard system. I mean, who uses _keys_ when they could have, I dunno, facial recognition? Even codes!” Hunk remarks, and swings open the cell door. Keith takes the keys from him and leans down to unlock Shiro. He gets them on the first try, freeing the big merman’s arm and tail. Scooping up Shiro, Keith turns to Pidge.

 

“All right, get us out of here.”

 

Pidge takes them on a winding course up through the castle. Away from private quarters there’s almost no guards this time of day. Leaving the castle, only once do they encounter someone. Coran strolls across the hall, almost oblivious until he notices Allura. He turns, taking in the scene with wide eyes. But then, wordlessly, the violet merman turns away and continues his stroll away down a side hall. The team breathes a collective sigh of relief.

 

They emerge from a side exit into the early morning ocean. Most of Atlantea is asleep, a pod of dolphins wandering through the dim light. Pidge squints at the rising sun.

 

“The nearest landmass is south of here. I’m assuming that’s where Shiro came from. Patrols often registered ships in that area, which would make sense if Shiro’s ship got wrecked. We should hurry, before King Alfor notices we’re gone.” Allura nods.

 

Faster than the dolphins, the paladins swims towards the southern waters. Keith and Hunk take turns carrying Shiro, while Allura’s magic seeps into the big merman. Slowly, the corals of Atlantea morph into long sandbars through which stingrays leisurely paddle, and then into dense purple seaweed forests. Hours and hours later, they soar over fields of seagrass, water warmer and steadily more shallow. Finally, the seafloor is back to sand. Pidge rises to the surface then darts back to the group.

 

“We’re approaching a beach,” she pants. Everyone groans in relief, sore from battle and exhausted. Allura flexes her hands.

 

“I shall complete Shiro’s transformation now. Keith, please hold him.”

 

Keith nervously holds Shiro by his torso and shoulders. Allura closes her eyes, and a blue glow begins spreading from her hands. The light covers her entire body until she’s brighter than the sun, and she reaches out to Shiro. She presses her hands to his stomach and the magic begins consuming him too.

 

Somehow, the tidal waves swaying the group seem to slow, cradling the mers.

 

Keith gasps. As the light spreads, it eats away at scales. The darkness of Shiro’s severed arm becomes light skin. The magic travels down Shiro’s body to his tail, which begins to separate into two. Slowly, central scales and flesh melt away until Shiro has legs again. The last scales vanish and Allura separates from him, gasping. Still blue, she informs Keith: “I am going to remove his memories of Atlantea.”

 

Keith nods reluctantly, forcing his heart down. “It’s for the best.”

 

Reassured, Allura places her hands around Shiro’s head. The blue glow begins to drain from her body, traveling down her arms, through her hands and into Shiro. His body glows one more time, and then his memories are drained, dispersed into the water. The light fades. Shiro is fully human now, still big but tailless, lower half undeniably human. Where once his hair was black and white it is now fully white, hair ghostly from his head to his eyebrows to the strange hair at his groin.

 

Lance clears his throat. “Why don’t, uh, why don’t you bring him to the beach, Keith? You should get to say your goodbyes… alone.” He glances sadly at the other paladins. Keith nods, throat constricting.

 

Slipping his arms under Shiro’s shoulders and legs, Keith swims to the beach. This shallow, the waves rock his body forward and his tail brushes against the sand. A strong wave sends them hurtling towards the shore, skidding to a halt on the wet sand. And Keith’s out of water. He gasps for breath on the sand, air burning his throat. Dragging Shiro with him, Keith haulshimself further ashore to prevent the tide pulling Shiro back. Finally, he stops.

 

Out of the water, Keith’s body is large and unwieldy, and he can only use his hands to haul himself around. Shiro, on the other hand, is meant for this. He’s about the same size as Keith now but incredibly light. His legs are beautiful, atrophied from disuse but written with echoes of muscle. Keith leans over the unconscious man, searing every detail of Shiro’s body into his brain. His beautiful face, the scar across his nose, his muscular body and legs. Keith runs his hands across Shiro’s angular cheekbone. On an emotion-spurred whim, he leans down and presses a salty kiss to Shiro’s chapped lips.

 

“Goodbye, Shiro,” the red merman whispers. He turns and drags himself back into the water, a gently receding tide carrying him back into the ocean. He reunites wordlessly with the others for the return journey to Atlantea, the seawater concealing his tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY
> 
> Also uh, I think I may have mistreated Hunk.. sorry for that too. I love him but he's also the voice of caution.


	9. I shall Wear White Flannel Trousers, and Walk upon the Beach

 

The prince dreams of red.

 

Matt found him unconscious on the beach and brought him back to Sky Garrison.

 

 

He was severely dehydrated and didn’t wake up for a week. Even when he did, he didn’t walk for another. His legs were extremely weak and a doctor from the capital of Galaxia was called in to treat the prince.

 

The prince was missing for a month.

 

No one understands what happened that month, least of all the prince himself.

 

He doesn’t remember anything.

 

He reunites with that crew he took out fishing before that fateful storm. He remembers losing Curtis and Adam, and is sad to learn they weren’t found. But beyond that, nothing.

 

A young prince from the capital took over Sky Garrison while he was gone. Prince James Griffin. He has a manor with several other nobles that he wishes to return to, disliking the responsibility of his current position. However, seeing the true prince’s state of mind, he agrees to help copilot Sky Garrison.

 

Deep sea fishermen have been finding excessive swarms of sea mice in their nets. Someone bought a cow, they say, but the other says they stole it. Life is peaceful.

 

Every morning, the prince walks the shores. He takes his black mare down the hills, through fields until he reaches the sand.

 

He walks along it barefoot. The sea calls to the prince, whispers some alluring melody, but with each wave drawing him out another pushes him back in.

Sometimes the prince finds pretty things on the beach, organized red stones and black stones and glass and shells.

 

He sits, and sometimes he spends all day there, until Matt or his father reminds him of his requirements at Sky Garrison.

 

But it’s there.

 

Not a memory.

 

A fact. A promise.

 

Ruby and garnet gliding through his brain, fire seared into his soul.

 

The prince dreams of red.

 

 

 


	10. I Have Seen the Eternal Footman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone pines...  
> and gets poisoned by an octopus!

 

Keith swam almost to Atlantea with his friends. He was beginning to think he could call them that. But he diverged and returned to his shipwreck, everyone having decided it was safer to protect Keith from King Alfor’s wrath, should he have it.

 

Eventually, a squadron of soldiers with Alfor at the head arrives at the seamount. Alfor is not angry, but he explains to Keith that the courts and laws demand punishment. So, Keith is banished from Atlantea. Keith is actually fine with this, considering he never visited Atlantea anyway. If the paladins wish to continue the friendship, they can visit him away from the drama and crowding of the capital.

 

Kosmo finds a friend, a lovely sea snake with black and yellow stripes not unlike his. She can’t teleport but packs double his punch of electricity, which the two use to terrorize Keith into giving extra food.

 

Princess Allura and her paladins do indeed visit. Two moon cycles later, they arrive bearing drinks and light shoulders with information: Atlantea had acted on their information, tracked down the Galra, and destroyed their laboratories and weapons. Haggar had escaped, obliterating an entire unite and draining them of their quintessence, then vanishing into the abyss, likely never to be seen again.

 

But the paladins aren’t the only ones doing traveling.

 

Keith tries not to. For an entire month, he doesn’t. He tells himself that Shiro is gone. Shiro is safe and that’s all that matters.

 

But Keith misses him. He misses his comforting presence. Despite the new eel babies, the shipwreck still feels empty sometimes. He misses Shiro telling him about streets and horses and clothes. He tries to distract himself. The red merman trains himself, tries to spar with the seaweed, but the spear is Shiro’s. He gave it to Shiro, and somehow it made itself back to Keith. Every time he picks up his dagger, Keith feels himself cutting through the muscle and bone of Shiro’s arm.

 

Resolving to rid himself of the past, he decides to make a new spear. He tries to rip out some wood from a not-yet-rotted barrel, but discovers an irate yellow and blue octopus. Trying to tug her away from her wood, which _Shiro_ said came from a tree, she latches onto his arm and somehow injects a very potent venom that Keith’s natural antivenin takes an eternity to overcome. She then fucks off, resettling in barrel never to be disturbed again. Keith names her Haggar.

 

Keith spends anywhere from a week to a moth immobilized. The venom swells his arm and torso, eating away at bodily function. He’s unconscious most of the time, capable of little. His eyes open only a few times to see the guppies in his shipwreck’s cabin.

 

But when Keith is traveling the world of dusk, when his body and brain is on fire, something he didn’t know until _someone_ taught him, he finds sweet relief in a cold puddle of memory. He travels through the gloaming hours to evening by the seamount, crystal clear and cold water washing around him as he laughs. He laughs at a joke told by the big merman.

 

The merman has a dark tail, like someone scooped up the deep and rubbed it onto opal scales. Maybe he is a creature of the deep, but he has a tanned, sun-seen torso unlike any mer Keith has ever seen. His right arm was plunged into the heart of the deep and came out all obsidian and talons, which he uses to gut a bonito. Slice rear fin to head, take out the entrails. Despite being a large fish, the bonito looks small in the merman’s hands. He offers the messily gutted fish to Keith, shy, and Keith takes a bite.

 

It crumbles to ash in his mouth, tendrils of venom daring as far as his subconscious. Seaweed grows hands and wraps itself around Keith’s tail, and he can’t break free. The other merman laughs, unaware of the hands slowly suffocating the two of them. Keith cries out but the seaweed dives into his mouth, gagging him, and then it turns right around and a whole new plant sprouts from Keith’s throat. _This is not real,_ he tell himself.

 

 

Bright lights blind Keith, blue, and creeping to dark corners he only finds the throbbing beat of Atlantean music, worming into his soul and rotting there.

Another time he’s racing the dark mer, who could beat him easily with that whale tail but instead leisurely glides around and Keith gasps for breath. And then they’re in the trenches and Keith swims for his life, panic and claustrophobia branding his gills and there’s the merman, keeping pace and unaware. _This is a dream_ , Keith tells himself, _no more than warped memories,_ and grabs on to the mer before the dark consumes them.

 

Keith maybe lives several lifetimes as driftwood, growing coral and housing dogfish eggs and disappearing again and again.

 

Now they’re in that guest room in the Atlantean capital. Keith is tired, he maybe beat another merman in some race so long ago. _Venom,_ his fish brain hisses, but his arm is puffy and numb. Held close to a body to warm to be mer, Keith drinks it in as strong arms place him in a cold bed and cover him with woven seagrass sheets. Keith tenses, ready for hungry smothering seaweed, but a warm hand presses him to the bed. He’s a prisoner in his own body, unable to move. But it’s okay. He’s tired. But Keith is wide awake when that face smiles at him, presses warm, unscaled hand to his cheek.

 

Fire rips through Keith’s body, not the kind that leaves blistered and destroyed scale and skin but a fire of purification. It races down his body, searing away imperfections to nothing but char his tail devours, blazing brighter and brighter. _Like fire,_ Shiro once said.

 

_Shiro._

 

Keith’s body roars to life, and he wakes clear-headed in the welcome darkness of his shipwreck. A small school of guppies nibble nervously at his arm, where new dark ring-shaped scars seem to have formed when Haggar (the octopus) envenomed him.

 

Groaning, he shoves off the heavy sheet and swims outside, wincing at the dawn light. Kosmo rushes to greet him, swirling joyfully around his hair and neck, somehow capable of understanding Keith’s delicate state. Only circling, he doesn’t zap the red mer, but soon enough Kosmo is followed by a massive horde of wriggling babies who each impart with Keith a tiny spark before swimming back to their father. Keith smiles.

 

“You’re the dad, Kosmo.” With a zap the large eel teleports away, leaving his spawn to go racing off to wherever he reappeared. Stomach rumbling, Keith floats belowdecks in search of any left food. Haggar glares balefully at him from where she oozes out of her barrel while Keith rustles around for stored fish.

 

“Bitch,” he mutters at her, tugging out a strip of old napoleon fish. _That’s what Shiro called it_ , Keith suddenly remembers. Mers call the big blue fish bass. Making quick work of the old meat, the red mer’s motive comes back to him. He tosses the bones in Haggar’s general direction and swims back to the top deck. With the early light, Keith knows he’ll make good time to his destination. He hesitates for a moment, thinking of Kosmo, but sets his mind. Kosmo will understand.

 

Taking one last look at his shipwreck, Keith turns away from the just-rising sun. South. That’s where Pidge said Sky Garrison was. Exalting in the cool water, he sets off.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Keith takes a slow pace, knowing rushing will only tire him out. But here, in the silent sea, Keith’s brain is his only companion. It begins to speak, voicing the doubts the red mer tries to keep down.

 

 _Pidge only said the nearest_ land _was south. It doesn’t have to be Sky Garrison. Or even Galaxia._

 

_They could have dropped Shiro off on a strange land far away from Galaxia._

 

_Shiro could still be under the control of Haggar._

 

The new scar arcing across Keith’s cheek twinges painfully, and he rubs it mindlessly.

 

 _Shiro could be dead_.

 

No.

 

Shiro can’t be dead, Keith tells himself. It’s just not possible. Still, the merman puts on a burst of speed, darting through the water.

 

He passes through coral forests, through sandbars and seaweed forests and seagrass plains until the seafloor begins sloping up to him. When his tail beats against sand, Keith stops. Near the shore, the waves gently rock him back and forth. He takes a breath, then soars up to the surface.

 

Keith’s head breaks the water. He orients himself in the late morning light, looking to shore. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust, but slowly he recognizes the beach. It’s not quite where he left Shiro, but close. Empty. Keith begins swimming slowly around the shore, bobbing his head underwater every so often for sweet relief from the harsh land air.

 

He circles a large stone outcropping into a sandy cove. Suddenly seeing motion, Keith throws himself behind a rock. Barnacles rub against his hands. _There is someone on the beach._

 

Steeling himself, Keith peeks over the edge of the stone. A short distance away, a man walks along the shore. Some light fabric loosely wraps itself around his body, damp near the ankles as the man’s feet are brushed by dying waves. Keith’s gaze moves up to the man’s face.

 

 

It’s Shiro.

 

 

 

 

White hair frames Shiro’s face, that tuft near his forehead waving in the wind. A dark scar bridges his nose. One of the sleeves of his tunic is knotted above the elbow. The arm that _Keith cut off_.

 

Suddenly aware of the burning in his throat and on his skin, Keith dives underwater again, rehydrating before looking back over the rock.

 

Shiro doesn’t notice him. Vision far away, the man’s grey eyes are stormy. He looks tired.

 

 _Stop that_. Keith shakes his head. Shiro is alive. Shiro is _fine_.

 

The red merman watches Shiro for a long time. The man wanders along the shore looking out to sea. The sun it almost at its zenith when a man on a massive animal and leading another appears above the cove.

 

“Shiro!” A boy’s voice cries out. Shiro’s head snaps towards the boy, nods. With one glance back to the beach, he begins making his way back up the beach, clambering over a boulder to where the boy waits. Voices carried away by the wind, Keith watches as the two greet each other, then turn and walk away. They crest a green hill and are gone.

 

Keith dives back underwater, cold water soothing his nose and mouth. He swims back to sea as fast as he can, blinking back tears. Keith didn’t anticipate his visit reopening that wound in his heart. He didn’t even realize there _was_ a wound in his heart. The red mer reminds himself that he came for closure, to see Shiro one last time. Shiro is okay. Closure.

 

But the hole in Keith's heart only widens, and as time goes on on he only feels more isolated and lonely, until Keith finds himself revisiting the beach.

 

He leaves early morning, returns by nightfall. Every couple of days Keith returns. Shiro does too, wandering the beach as if searching the waves. The red merman occasionally leaves pretty things for him, sand-smoothed stones and seaglass and shells. But he never reveals himself.

 

Keith knows that Shiro’s life has moved on, and the mer is no longer a part of him. But he can’t quite release Shiro. 

 

And so he visits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little Haggar the octopus edition wasn't gonna happen, and then my evil rabbit bit me so I had to give her a role.
> 
> Also, I think the end is getting in sight... We're looking at maybe 15 chapters, extra included.
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me so much!


	11. I am Lazarus, Come from the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We return.

 

 

 

Keith hasn’t seen Shiro in a while. He hasn’t seen anyone in a while, actually. Haggar (the octopus) slithered off the wreck some time last month, and Kosmo and his new family moved up the seamount, presumably on vacation from Keith’s gloom. Gloom, because Shiro was visiting less and less.

 

The man had gone from almost every day to recently not showing up for weeks at a time. When Keith has crept in closer to the shore, undetected, he’s seen new energy in Shiro’s eyes. He’s moved on. Still, Keith visits, knowing that one day the prince will stop coming, stop wandering the shore. After that, Keith tells himself that he will move on.

 

The paladins visited the other week, minus Pidge who is back visiting Olkarion. Atlantea suffered losses battling Haggar (the sea-witch) and is rebuilding. Allura invited Keith back into the paladins, of which she had become a full-fledged member of. Keith reminded her of his banishment, but the princess argued she could convince her father to revoke it.

 

“You’re a hero, Keith. If it were not for you, we would never have found Haggar.”

 

“If it weren’t for _Shiro,”_ he tells her. Keith can tell Allura senses his unrest, his loneliness, but she leaves it at that.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Today is a strange day.The sky is only lightly clouded, but the giant waves threaten a storm. Keith drifts listlessly in the sand, far enough away from the shore he won’t be affected by the waves. He pokes around the sand, entertaining himself with the feeble efforts of clams and crabs to escape him. The red merman has caught several clams, but without his knife he can’t pry them open. Keith has been leaving it at the shipwreck lately: whenever he sees it he feels the vibrations in his hand as the knife cut through Shiro’s arm. So he contents himself with the odd crab, munching them down shell and all.

Keith breaks the water’s surface for a moment, glancing at the beach. No sign of Shiro yet, but Keith woke up feeling _something_ so here he is. Perhaps the red string of fate gave a little sadistic tug at his heart.

 

Keeping his head above the water for too long burns, so Keith makes to duck under again. But he underestimated the tide, and a great wave sends him hurtling to shore. He scraps his tail against the sand, a thousand sand-fleas burrowing back into the seafloor beneath him. Groaning, Keith turns, and stops cold.

 

Towering in front of him, so she breaks the water’s surface.

Haggar.

 

Her purple face is contorted in rage, eyes glowing an unnatural yellow. Her long white hair is ratty and knotted, and her body is covered in scratches and bruises. But the sea-witch’s tentacles are as vicious as ever. Where most mer’s tails begin, at least eight nightmare-black tentacles twist in unrest.

 

“H-how—“ Keith chokes.

 

That’s right, Allura told him Haggar escaped. She looks even bigger than Keith remembers from the trenches, juiced up on quintessence.

 

 

Haggar bares her teeth. “You are insignificant. You are less than plankton, but _you_ took _away my victory_!” Her voice turns into a scream as she finishes. Keith feels for his belt, his weapons, but nothing. Defenseless, the merman scrabbles in the sand for a sharp shell, glass, anything, and finds a razor clam shell. Haggar sends her tentacles at him, but Keith tucks in his tail and manages to avoid them, until one suckers on to his arm. It wraps around, pulling him closer and cutting off his blood flow. Keith winces, but brings his other hand over and slices deep into the fleshy appendage. Haggar shrieks and yanks her tentacles back, taking the razor clam as well.

 

Keith shakes out his hand. Should he run? No, she’s blocking the open ocean. Maybe if he gets to the shore, he can wait her out and she won’t follow. Just maybe she’ll lose interest before he dries out? Keith turns tail for the beach, but Haggar’s tentacles shoot out again. A long one wraps around his tail and yanks him back, others rising to grab on to him.

 

Keith thinks frantically. He’s no Olkari but he still has fangs, and at the moment they’re his only weapon. As Haggar draws him in, he turns and pushes his tail off the sand, jetting towards her. It takes the sea witch by surprise and he bypasses her tentacles, stretching out his arm until her finds her shoulder. He can feel the tentacles creeping back up his tail but with a yell Keith pulls himself forward, sinking his teeth deep into her neck.

 

The witch screams and beats him with her tentacles, scratches with her hands as she tries to force Keith off. Keith hangs on, trying to rip out her neck. He feels reverberations in his teeth as her flesh rends, and blood seeps into his mouth and nose. It burns and makes his grip slippery, and a blow to his jaw sends him spiraling away. He pulls himself back to the shore, then risks a glance back.

 

The sea witch is manifesting that purple ball of light in her hand, much larger than the trenches. Concentrated quintessence. A buzzing noise builds in Keith’s skull, and with a cry the witch sends the energy hurtling towards Keith. Like a bolt of lightning it drives into Keith’s back as he turns, a thousand burning hot swords slotting themselves in his ribs. Keith screams as his body spasms, before the lightning is gone, leaving almost complete numbness in his body. Darkness pulls at the corner of his vision. He tries to pull himself upright, but it doesn’t work. Then he feels the bubbles running up along his spine, tracking the void of his body. _Swim bladder._ Haggar must have punctured it, Keith thinks. He tries to cover the wound in his back and duck underwater, but he floats helplessly to the surface.The waves push him against the sand, and he cries out in pain, barely able to redirect to look back at the sea witch.

 

Haggar towers above him. Like the moon, water swirls around her, waves breaking up to hold her above the water as she looks down at She grins triumphantly, black blood trickling around her teeth. A large chunk of her neck dangles by threads of muscle, purple flesh leaking dark blood. Incredibly she’s still kicking, chest heaving. Haggar bares her teeth at Keith, coming closer. She hisses and leans closer, preparing another blast of quintessence.

 

“ _You are sand,_ ” the sea witch whispers, and Keith can’t argue. His body isn’t listening to him and he can’t feel it and the darkness blankets his mind, then eyes.

 

If Keith was awake he might have heard the splashing of water behind him, the yell and then the earth-rending scream cut short.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Shiro doesn’t know what brought him to the beach today. Perhaps the red string of fate that wound itself around his heart during that month he can’t remember gave a hopeful little tug.

 

He’d had the kitchen staff prepare a small picnic and rode out on his black mare for a scenic day on the shore. If anything, he would enjoy this beautiful day. Since that time, without memories, just a feeling his brain has dubbed _red,_ Shiro has found himself appreciating everything he can, feeling a little joy at each bug, bird, sandwich and cloud.

 

Shiro had been dismounting to take the little path to the shore when he heard the screech. The unearthly noise made Lioness, his horse, buck in fear, and sent a memory of terrorthrough the man’s brain. If it wasn’t for the raw, unmistakably human cry that followed, Shiro might have gone right back to Sky Garrison.

 

But instead, he stumbles down the steep path to the beach, sliding across boulders until he reaches the sand. What meets Shiro when he reaches the beach is a sight from the wildest nightmares.

 

A man lies on the sand, coloring the waves around him red. Above him, buoyed up by great crashing raves creating some kind of reverse whirlpool is a _monster…_ It looks female, light purple skin and writhing white hair. Her neck is copiously bleeding something dark, but she seems unfazed. As Shiro runs closer, her glowing yellow eyes send a kick to his system. He stops. Where her waist turns into her hips, the creature turns into some poly-tentacled squid or octopus, inky black tentacles twisting in tight circles above the roiling water.

 

Shiro has met this creature before. He can feel dark memories biting at his brain, held back by a weakening dam. _Run,_ they scream, _run!_

 

The monster raised a clawed hand. As if summoning from the air, a ball of bright light begins converging on her palm.

 

A trickle through the dam: _she’s going to hurt the man with that._

 

His heart has retained memory better: _you can’t let that happen._

 

She raises her hand as if to strike the man.

 

 _“HEY!_ ” Shiro shouts, running forward. She raises her hand as if to strike the man. Shiro’s hand flies to his side, where - _thank god-_ he has his saber. He splashes into the water ahead of the man. The woman monster pauses, and that split-second is all Shiro needs to leap up and drive his sword through her heart.

 

He _hopes_ it’s her heart.

 

The witch, that seems like the right word, lets out a gasp cut short. The waves dissipate, and she stumbles into the water, saber still embedded in her breast. Shiro leans forward and draws out the sword, leaving the witch drifting in the calmer water.

 

The light is dying in her eyes, but when Shiro looks he’s taken aback by the expression of rage and pure hatred on her face. For good measure, he slices the saber cleanly through her neck. Black blood billows out, staining the water, but the receding tide is already beginning to carry the witch’s body far out to sea.

 

Shaken, Shiro turns to the man. He kneels down, scoops him up and pulls him further to shore where the waves can’t reach. He’s unnaturally heavy, and when Shiro looks down he realizes why.

 

Just like the witch, the man’s naked body only goes until his hips, where it becomes the tail of a fish. It’s beautiful, all ruby and garnet, and as the sun comes out from a cloud, it becomes pure fire.

 

The flame lights in Shiro’s brain and he can feel his entire body burning, burning at the dam in his brain and his fear. He welcomes it. The sun passes behind another cloud, and it’s gone.

 

The man isn’t human at all, he’s a mermaid… merman? Regardless, injured. He’s beautiful, skin like porcelain from probably never seeing the sun, long dark hair framing his face. A long, fresh looking scar marks the side of his face from jaw to cheek. Blood drips out of his mouth, a dark bruise blossoming on his chin from where one of those tentacles must have whacked him. Other than bruises, the merman seems to have sustained no massive injuries on his front. So where is all this blood coming from?

 

Pulling him further from the hungry waves, Shiro turns the merman on his side. Along the line of his ribs, Shiro notices long, thin gills. They wave weakly in the sun. Shiro then notices how bright red the mer’s skin is, when it certainly wasn’t before. Is he really that much fish, Shiro wonders. Does he need water, is he sunburning already? Shiro knows of a small cave in the rocks, just around the shore. He used to play in it, as a child. At high tide it’s half filled with water, low tide only pools. No sun.

 

Shiro attempts to scoop the red merman up. It’s difficult, with one arm, but Shiro manages to maneuver him over his shoulder. The merman is heavy, and Shiro staggers into the water, where the load lightens significantly. Shiro wades across the beach to the cliff that corners it on one end, slips behind a boulder and into a hole in the wall.

The cave isn’t very deep, dimly lit by the sun. Small trickles creep in to a deep pool, surrounded to the back of the cave by smooth stone ledges. Shiro and his friends used to spend all day there, daring each other to swim to the bottom. Occasionally, they found. Gem like a clam or sea star. The memory warms Shiro’s heard.

 

Shiro pulls himself onto a rock bench that forms the shore of this tide pool, and lets the mer drift into the water. The mer floats, thankfully, but dark trickles spread from his body into the pool. Shiro turns over the mer once again, sees the source. Great slices lance across his back, their origin a charred wound right next to his spine. They interrupt beautiful reddish marks that zigzag down his spine. Only slightly congealed, blood still drips from the wounds, and the mer is looking even paler than earlier.

 

Shiro shrugs off his coat, slightly stained with black blood. It’s old cotton, and tears easily when Shiro holds it with one hand and yanks with his teeth. Pulling the merman up with his legs, Shiro moves him around so the mer stretches across his thigh, back up. Shiro packs the wounds with bits of cotton, then wraps them with larger bandages. Without two arms, Shiro has trouble tying them, and settles for twisting them tourniquet-style to keep pressure on the wounds, but not too hard to hurt any ribs. A small spot of crimson discolors the bandage above the largest wound, but after a few minutes it still doesn’t spread.

 

Watching the slow rise and fall of his chest, Shiro slowly slides the merman back into the water, where he floats belly-up. Not a good sign, but Shiro’s used up all his medical knowledge so he simply turns the mer face-down to the water, where maybe he can breathe. Gills, right?

 

Shiro leans back on the ledge. His pants are utterly soaked, so he uses his saber to delicately cut them off mid-thigh. Then he leans back, and waits.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiro isn’t sure how long he waits. The tide goes almost completely out, and filling it is the rive of his memories. They’re not quite solid, just flashes of color and voice. The odd bit of pain, odd bit of joy. Lots of red.

 

Finally, the merman stirs. It begins with a twitch in that translucent tail, then a shudder passes through his body and he wakes up gasping, floundering in the water. Before Shiro can react it stops, and the merman seems to be looking around underwater. He must notice the walls of the tidal pool because he surfaces and looks around the cavern. His eyes alight on Shiro, and he freezes like winter came early.

 

“S-Shiro?” He asks. His voice is raw, but brings back memories of happiness. That red string of fate has stopped its tugging, it’s dragging him towards this person.

 

“I feel like I know you from another life…” Shiro speaks slowly, still forming his thoughts. The merman swims closer, slowly, like he’s afraid he might hurt Shiro. “Am I crazy?”

 

The merman grips the rocky shelf with one hand, pulling himself further out of the water till he’s eye level with Shiro. Slowly, he cups Shiro’s jaw with a cold hand, leaning forward.

 

“Not at all,” the red merman whispers against Shiro’s lips.

 

Then, the dam truly breaks. Splinters into nothingness, and all Shiro’s memories of that missing month come flooding back. With a gasp, Shiro buries his head in Keith’s shoulder

, wapping an arm around him tightly.

 

“Keith,” he sobs, “ _Keith.”_

 

Keith doesn’t hesitate to throw his arms around Shiro. It’s barely a moment before they’re both crying, gasping each other’s names and holding on like a lifeline.

 

They’re back together, never letting go.

 

Finally, Shiro loosens his grip. Gently wiping Keith’s tears away, his eyes fix on the scar marring the red mer’s cheek. Keith follows his gaze, and covers up the scar with his hand.

 

“Do you remember?”

 

“Bits and pieces,” Shiro says quietly.

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Keith tells him.

 

“No. I hurt you. I hurt all of them,” Shiro insists. Keith shakes his head.

 

“That was Haggar. You couldn’t have done a thing, but I should have known. She probably _let_ you escape. I should have connected the dots when you said you couldn’t remember anything. And then I cut off your arm. I could have stopped everything, could have protected you if only I knew.”

 

Shiro forces a laugh. “Oh, that old arm? Check it out.” He tugs off his shirt, revealing the stub of his shoulder. It’s been shortened from where Keith cut it.“When my people found me, it was all bloody. They tried everything, even cauterizing it, but the flesh all rotted away. But it revealed this,” he gestures to the star-shaped white scar on the bottom, “already healed. I lost my arm a long time ago, Keith. That _thing_ Haggar attached to me was a weapon programmed to kill everyone. You saved all of us.”

 

Keith nods, biting his lip. He tentatively reaches out a hand to touch the scar, but Shiro grabs it in his other hand. He squeezes Keith’s hand tightly, and looks into his eyes. “You have _nothing_ to regret,” Shiro tells him.

 

Keith wants to argue, tell Shiro how useless he is and how Shiro would be better off with out him, but all of Keith’s self-loathing that he’d cultivated since his days in Atlantea is washed away by the waves of love he feels for Shiro.

 

“Thank you,” he whispers, throat dry.

 

He’s been breathing too much air for several minutes now, and needs to be underwater for a moment, Keith explains to Shiro. Shiro nods understandingly. He sinks under the water, replenishing his skin and dry throat. From the surface, he hears a distorted _screw dry clothes!_ The water rocks with a giant splash as Shiro throws himself into the water. They both surface, laughing.

 

“And here I was, just getting dry,” Shiro giggles. Keith notices the lopsided way the man is treading water.

 

“Can you still swim?” Keith asks, concerned. Shiro shakes his head.

 

“Not really. My legs have gotten stronger, but I’m not sure I’m capable of swimming very far anymore.”

 

Keith holds out his arms. “Here,” he offers, “you can hang on to me.” Shiro’s face turns a little pink but he obliges, letting Keith scoop him up. He wraps his working arm around Keith’s torso and leans his head on Keith’s neck.

 

“God, Keith. I’m so happy we’re back.”

 

Keith remembers the last time he cradles Shiro in his arms like this. Right after Keith cut off his arm, before they took his memories and left him on the beach.

 

Shiro can tell Keith is drifting. “Hey, no sad thoughts,” he commands, turning Keith to face him with a hand on his cheek. Keith smiles.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“And no sorries either!” Keith laughs. He reaches up a hand to run through Shiro’s silky white hair.

 

He loves this man, Keith realizes. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, he’s never felt this way before about anyone. He doesn’t remember his parents. Kosmo was his friend. He never felt this way for Allura, despite what she had hoped.

 

“I love you,” he murmurs.

 

“What?” Shiro asks, clueless.

 

Keith shakes his head, then looks at Shiro. “I want to kiss you right now,” he says louder, watching Shiro’s face for the slightest expression. Shiro grins, blinking like he might cry.

 

“About damn time.” He leans forward and Keith goes to meet him, kissing him gently. They just hold each other, only breaking the kiss when Shiro needs to breathe. And then they’re kissing again, and Shiro’s tongue is sliding in Keith’s mouth and Keith has never felt this _alive…_

 

_“SHIROOO!”_

 

Shiro parts from Keith with a curse. Keith recognizes the voice as that boy from the beach who would come and get Shiro. Shiro looks nervous.

 

“That’s Matt,” he says. Keith nods. “He’s my closest friend. He was on the ship the day of the storm and he found me on the beach. I should go to him.”

 

“You should. I can wait here.”

 

“Shouldn’t you go back to Atlantea?” Shiro asks. He’s tugging on his shirt and ripped up coat.

 

“I can’t. I think Haggar punctured my swim bladder.”

 

“Oh right, we need to talk about that. Don’t only fish have swim bladders?”

 

“I am a fish, Shiro. You know, the kind with scales and gills and a tail. I can’t control it, so I basically can’t swim until it heals. I’ll wait here.”

 

“I’ll be back,” Shiro promises, scooping up his saber. “Should I tell him about you?”

 

“If you trust him.”

 

Shiro nods and wades back into the water, treading towards the cave exit. “I’ll be back tomorrow with fish and bandages. I’m sorry.”

 

“No sorries, remember?” Keith teases him. He plants a quick kiss on Shiro’s cheek before Shiro wades out of the cavern.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Shiro pulls himself out of the little cavern, then holds on to the cliff walls as he navigates towards the cove’s shore. He sees Matt wave at him distantly, and waves back, holding his sword. When he gets close enough to the beach Matt rushes into the water, escorting Shiro out.

 

“Where were you?” Matt asks. “You’ve been gone all morning. And what’s with the ripped up coat?”

 

Shiro smiles happily. “Long story,” he says, “I’ll tell you on the way home. I’m going to be needing a lot of fish.”

 

Matt nods. His captain is a strange one, and he can’t wait to meet whoever is going to be requiring these fish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matt's a smart one, huh?


	12. Stretched Out on the Floor, Here beside You and Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> !SMUT!  
> !And confessions!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT ALERT SMUT ALERT SMUT ALERT  
> Sorry this took so long! School started again and I'm ah, drowning. Anyway, this chapter only contains shameless smut and bad poetry, and a bit of foreshadowing. Don't like? Don't read, it's not significant to the plot.
> 
> Enjoy~

 

True to his word, Shiro shows up early the next morning, wading into the cave minutes after Keith wakes. Shiro brings him six large catfish, courtesy of the kitchens. He’d had to endure a lecture from Collie about responsibilities, and then a more emotional appeal by the prince James Griffin.

 

“Please, Prince Takashi,” the young man had begged, “I can’t do this alone.” Shiro had made mumbling excuses, tried to promise him that he would return. He wished he could convince him of how much he loved Sky Garrison, explain where his heart lay. But now, Shiro isn’t sure.

 

The events of the previous day had shaken Shiro. After so much time trying to not get attached to Keith, all of that had been stripped away to just leave him forced to face his feelings.

 

Shiro loves Keith.

 

But Keith is the ocean and Shiro is a prince of the land, and he loves his land. Keith can tell something is weighing on him.

 

“What’s wrong?” Keith asks after he’s eaten. Shiro debates his answer, watching the merman pick his teeth with a catfish bone. He settles on the truth.

 

“My people know I’m disappearing. They want me back, but I want to be with you.”

 

Keith nods, setting down the fish bone. “Do you want to be their prince?”

 

“Yes,” Shiro replies without a second thought.

 

“I think I have an idea,” Keith says slowly. Shiro perks up, but Keith shakes his head. “I’m still figuring it out.” Shiro slumps a little bit. He’s never been the greatest at coping with stress. Finally, the man shrugs.

 

“For another time. Mind if I join you in the water?”

 

“Please,” says Keith, who’s nose is already burning in the air. As Shiro moves to get in, Keith suggests, “you should take off your clothes.”

 

Shiro turns red. “E-Excuse me?”

 

“Shouldn’t you keep them dry? You only got your pants wet wading in.” Keith sees Shiro blush and realizes he’s embarrassed. “Besides, I’ve already seen you naked.”

 

“You have?” Shiro sputters. Keith nods serenely.

 

“When Allura made you human again. I, ah, haven’t seen many humans but you were quite fine.”

 

Shiro’s face turns an impossible shade of coral as he chokes out a _sure._ He awkwardly strips, inconvenienced by his missing arm but more so by his modesty. Finally, covering his groin he slides into the cool water. Keith scoops him up like last time, but Shiro flinches.

 

“Are you okay?” Keith asks. He’s completely unaware of human behavior, and attempts to rub Shiro’s arm and thigh where Keith holds him. It worked with an injured dolphin once, calming her down to assess the damage some toothy creature had done to her side. Shiro goes extremely still and covers his face with his hand.

 

In a small voice, Shiro says “I am very naked and being held very close to the man I very much love who happens to be _very_ gorgeous.”

 

Keith’s meandering hand happens to brush Shiro’s tumescent penis. He understands. _“_ Oh,” Keith goes. “ _Oh.”_

 

Shiro keeps his face buried into his hand. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs. Keith cups Shiro’s jaw and gently tugs his hand away, pressuring the man to look at him.

 

“What are you sorry for? It’s natural for human bodies, right? Shiro, I’m, uh. Honored. I feel the same way about you.” Keith also feels red creeping into his face.

 

Shiro glances below the clear water. “You aren’t, um.”

 

“Oh!” Keith shakes his head dismissively. “Mer bodies sort of require external stimulation for a response.”

 

“I remember!” Shiro says, “That’s how it worked when I was- I, um.” He stops, both remembering when Shiro was afraid he lost his dick.

 

Keith adjusts his grip on Shiro to lower back to keep Shiro from sinking. Nervously, he asks, “Can I touch you?”

 

“If you, um. Yeah.” Shiro says. He looks terrified. Keith grips the back of Shiro’s head and forces him to look Keith in the eyes.

 

“Be sure. I will only do this if you’re sure you want it. Okay, Shiro?”

 

Shiro takes a breath. “ _Yes,_ Keith. Please, touch me.”

 

Keith shifts their position, so Shiro is leaning back against Keith’s stomach, held with his arm around Keith and one of Keith’s arms around Shiro, the other free.

 

Keith touches Shiro’s cock, watching Shiro from over his shoulder. He wraps a hand around Shiro and the man gasps, arching against Keith. _Cute,_ Keith thinks.

 

Keith begins stroking Shiro with a slow pace and Shiro _melts,_ grabbing on to the muscle of Keith’s shoulder. As Keith pulls him off, Shiro suddenly grinds down on the merman’s groin. Keith stops. Tightening his hand around Shiro’s cock, Keith murmurs into his ear.

 

“Better stop that,” he says, “or I’m gonna get hard too.”

 

“That’s the plan,” Shiro replies, grinning. He certainly isn’t embarrassed anymore. Trusting Keith’s arm around his middle he reaches down to the red mer’s groin, fingers tracing along garnet scales until he finds his slit. Shiro runs his fingers around it, pressing into the silky fish skin until Keith stiffens against him, hissing _shit_ into Shiro’s hair.

 

Shiro keeps rubbing until he feels a ripple in the scales, feels Keith’s slit widen and his erect penis emerge. It’s long and slightly curved, and unnervingly dappled in reds. Shiro tentatively grinds down on it, eliciting a moan from the mer. Keith shifts his arms again, gripping the human’s muscled side in one hand- _had Shiro always been this strong?-_ and gripping his cock with the other. Keith thrusts against Shiro, leaning Shiro down so their cocks can rub together.

 

Shiro gasps and grabs on to the rock ledge in a splintering grip to brace himself as Keith builds up a relentless pace fucking their cocks together, stroking them with one hand and creating a delicious friction. Keith feels the pressure in his stomach and knows he’s close.

 

“Keith,” Shiro gasps, tensing below Keith. “I’m- I’m gonna-“

 

A few more thrusts against Shiro’s ass and Keith’s coming, unconsciously biting down into Shiro’s neck. Shiro must like that because he comes immediately with a shout, grip tightening enough to actually crack the thin stone ledge. Keith rides out the waves of his orgasm holding tight to the man he loves, still astonished at how lucky he is to have found Shiro.

 

Eventually they part. Shiro releases his death grip on the rock and Keith realizes the indentations of his fangs in Keith’s neck. Not hard enough to draw blood, but a mark is already blooming. Shiro laughs it off with the ease of a post-coital high, snuggling with Keith and pressing a kiss to the merman’s jaw.

 

Keith leans back, floating just beneath the water’s surface, tugging Shiro over to lie across his chest. He runs his fingers along Shiro’s dimensional bicep to neatly sculpted abs, admiring his lover.

 

“Earlier, I didn’t get a chance to tell you how beautiful you are,” Keith whispers.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Keith runs a hand through Shiro’s adorable tuft of white hair. “Your body is long and elegant, just like you were as a mer. You care for your body and you’re quite strong, judging by what you did to that poor rock.”

 

Shiro snorts.

 

“Your scars tell stories, and I don’t know them all. The ones I know tell me you’re a survivor, that you’ll keep fighting for what you love no matter what.”

 

Shiro catches Keith’s hand and presses it to his lips.

 

“I think you also have a beautiful spirit. You’re kind and funny, and I can’t wait to see you grow. You surround yourself with intelligent people, and inspire trust and love in everyone you meet. I think you also have good choice in haircuts.”

 

Shiro laughs and turns to look at Keith. “That sounds like a wedding vow. Here’s mine, then.” Keith raises his eyebrows, puzzling out what ‘wedding vows’ are.

 

“Keith. I think everything you said replies to you too. You’re strong and smart, quick thinking and you always make the right choice. When you first found me, I was half unconscious, but I remember one thing: red. I remember fire. And when I think of that fire, I’m not afraid to touch it. Because,” Shiro says, looking at Keith fiercely, “I _know_ it would never burn me. I trust you with my life, Keith.” Keith can feel a lump rising in his throat.

 

“Your tail is beautiful, a piece of art no artist could ever surpass. You have beautiful hair -good choice in haircut too- and these markings on your back always amaze me.” He runs his arm down Keith’s spine, where a series of lines, circles and dots crisscross the ridge of bone. “When I look at your eyes, I see storms. It scares me to think of the storm that wrecked my ship, but if it were not so then I would never have met you. Your eyes are beautiful. I feel guilt, seeing that scar on your face, butI can also hear you trying to convince me that it wasn’t my fault. You have faith in people.”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Keith mutters, thinking about Atlantea. Shiro smiles.

 

“You made a hard choice, I think. You’re good at making decisions, even if they’re hard ones, and following through with them. Thank you, Keith. I love you.”

 

Keith shakes his head, holding on to Shiro. “I don’t deserve you, Shiro,” he whispers.

 

“I’ll prove you do,” Shiro tells him, “as many times as it takes.”

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro reluctantly leaves late in the day, pressured by Keith telling him to return to the palace and attend his princely duties. When he leaves, Keith swims around the pools, willing his swim bladder to heal quicker. As he swims, the red merman thinks of Shiro’s words: _you’re good at making decisions, even if they’re hard ones._ Keith has a hard decision to make.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shy Shiro? Shy Shiro. 
> 
> What do you guys think? This is (obviously) my first time writing smut so I hope it isn't too forced or anything. I do take criticism, as long as y'all don't eviscerate me. I've done a little 'research' for like, fish dicks and everything and took absolutely none of it into consideration. I did learn, though: eels have never been observed mating?
> 
>  
> 
> Stay tuned for a SFW update soon and more weird fish facts soon!


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